OREANDA-NEWS. High gas prices in Europe are explained by the policy of the previous European Commission. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin following talks with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

The head of Russia recalled that on the free European market, raw materials are sold for $ 650 per thousand cubic meters. At the same time, the cost of Russian fuel is tied to oil, so fluctuations are "softer."

“Under long-term contracts and according to our pricing principle, Gazprom does not sell at such a price. the same Germany sells for 220. In any case, it was so recently. With the rise in oil prices, this price will rise, but it will be a soft thing, "Putin added.

On Thursday, the price of gas on the European market exceeded a record $ 700 per thousand cubic meters. The previous high was broken the day before, when the contract value reached $ 670. A day earlier, on Tuesday, the figure exceeded $ 660.

This is due to low stocks in European storage facilities due to the past cold winter and hot summer, analysts said.

The interests of Germany, like many European countries, lie in the need to obtain additional volumes of gas, these interests should be followed by the new leadership of the country, as the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said the day before. He said: "" The interests of Germany, like many European countries now, dictate the need for additional volumes of natural gas. And these interests, it seems, are probably the Germans should and will follow. "