President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow will work to re-direct its energy eastward as European countries try to reduce reliance on Russian exports, adding that Europe will not be able to completely shun Russian gas immediately.

Russia has been forging closer ties with Asia and China, the world’s top energy consumer, trying to diversify away deliveries from its traditional supply markets in Europe.

Western sanctions over Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine have hit Russian energy exports by complicating financing of the deals and logistics.

Russia to seek alternative to European energy market: Putin

“What’s astonishing is that the so-called partners from unfriendly countries concede themselves that they won’t be able to make do without Russian energy resources, including without natural gas, for example,” Putin told a televised government meeting.

“There is no rational replacement (for gas) in Europe now.”

He also said that Europe, by talking about cutting off energy supplies from Russia, was driving up prices and destabilising the market.

“Unfriendly countries admit that they cannot do without Russian energy resources”, Putin said.

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has triggered an overhaul of the 27-country EU’s energy priorities as Brussels seeks to wrest countries free from depending on Russia, which supplies around 40% of the bloc’s natural gas.

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Putin said that Russia will need to build infrastructure to boost its energy supplies to Asia.

Russia started pipeline gas supplies to China in the end of 2019 after years of painstaking talks and agreeing to cutting prices for the fuel.