Putin's envoy: Europe needs Russia to survive

A senior Russian official has said European countries cannot do without Russia and that engagement with Moscow is essential for their “survival”, amid reports of rising Russian gas imports into the EU.

Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s special presidential representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), made the remarks in a post on X.

“As predicted, Europe needs Russia to survive,” Dmitriev wrote.

His comments came in response to a report by the Financial Times suggesting that the European Union is increasing imports of Russian natural gas as a wider crisis in the Middle East disrupts energy supplies and tightens global markets.

By Aghakazim Guliyev