Russia says ready to provide gas to EU if surplus from supplies to alternative markets

Russia on Sunday said it is ready to provide natural gas to the EU if it has a surplus from supplies to alternative markets.

"Of course, why not? If there's gas left over from (supplies to) alternative markets. As long as there's plenty of it, it's there. But alternative markets are very voracious, (and) there are a lot of demands for supplies," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Vesti journalist Pavel Zarubin in an interview.

The EU says it has reduced its dependence on Russian fossil fuels following Russia's war on Ukraine.

Russia's share of EU imports of pipeline gas dropped from around 40% in 2021 to around 6% in 2025.

For pipeline gas and LNG combined, Russia accounted for around 12% of total EU gas imports in 2025.

Peskov also spoke about Ukraine peace talks, saying Russia understands the reasons behind the pause in negotiations mediated by the US, which he attributed to the workload of American negotiators.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, involved in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, were in Islamabad on Saturday to negotiate a permanent end to US-Israeli war on Iran. The delegation was led by US Vice President JD Vance, and there was no immediate agreement.

The spokesman said territorial disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv amount to "just a few kilometers," and that peace is achievable if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes "well-known decisions," referring to Russia's demand from Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbas region.

Ukraine has denied a potential withdrawal from the industrial region, instead defending the position that troops remain in place along the front line in Ukraine.

The Kremlin spokesman also said that Russia underestimating the strength of NATO would be "reckless and shortsighted." "The alliance is very strong. It's clear that the changing realities of the modern world will force the alliance to transform."

Peskov added he does not think NATO will collapse and that its European component will only grow stronger.

US President Donald Trump recently said he is considering withdrawing the US from the alliance, describing it as a "paper tiger."