European Commission: We can do without Russian gas this winter

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed today, Wednesday, that the EU countries are able to dispense with Russian gas during the current winter, after diversifying their sources in recent weeks.

We have examined the hypotheses of a partial or complete halt to Russian gas supplies in the event of an escalation of tension over Ukraine, von der Leyen said before the European Parliament, which is meeting in a plenary session in Strasbourg, adding, "I can say today that we are safe this winter."

"We also spoke with the major LNG suppliers, to ask if we could swap contracts for the EU," von der Leyen said.

She noted that Japan is ready to do so, stressing that these efforts "are now clearly bearing fruit."

Japan said - last week - that it will divert some shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe in response to requests from the European Union and the United States.

The escalation of tension with Moscow over Ukraine has raised concerns about Russian gas flows to Europe, prompting the European Union to review its contingency plans to cope with supply shocks, and also prompting the bloc and the United States officials to search for alternative supplies.

Negotiations to increase gas shipments

On Tuesday, von der Leyen told reporters that the European Union had spoken with the United States, Qatar, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Nigeria and South Korea about increasing shipments of gas and liquefied natural gas, either through additional shipments or contract exchanges.

Russia is the third largest oil producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia, and a source of about 40% of natural gas used in Europe.

With rising gas and oil prices, any Russian move to reduce energy supplies will negatively affect Europe.

European liquefied natural gas imports recorded a record high of about 11 billion cubic meters last January, just under half of which came from the United States.

Gas storage levels in Europe are currently around 34%.

Recently, Western countries accused Russia of amassing its forces near the Ukrainian border, while Washington threatened to impose sanctions on Russia in the event of an attack on Ukraine.