The French government said on Saturday that European energy ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Monday after oil and gas prices soared in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A statement issued by the French Ministry of Environment and Industrial Transport stated that the meeting will be held in Brussels.
The meeting is expected to discuss the increase in energy prices related to the Ukraine war.
At dawn on Thursday, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry reactions from several countries in the world and calls for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
Russian gas continues to flow
In Russia, Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Saturday that it was supplying gas through Ukraine in line with demand from European customers despite the military conflict there.
It added that the demand from its European customers amounted to 108.1 million cubic meters on Saturday.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the European Union to impose a ban on the import of natural gas and oil from Russia.
Zelensky said - via Facebook - that Russian President Vladimir Putin will go further if he does not receive the necessary response.
He appealed to the West to impose strong economic sanctions on Russia, and to ban the import of gas and oil from it as soon as possible.
India and oil price fluctuations
Meanwhile, a government statement on Saturday said that India is closely monitoring global energy markets and possible disruptions in energy supplies as a result of the evolving geopolitical situation.
The statement added that India is committed to supporting initiatives to withdraw from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to mitigate market volatility and calm the rise in crude oil prices.
India has space to store about 39 million barrels of oil for strategic purposes, which is equivalent to about 9 days of demand, based on 2019 consumption. The country meets about 85% of its oil requirements through imports.
Oil prices rose significantly in early trading on Thursday, to break the barrier of $100 a barrel, against the backdrop of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukrainian lands.