OREANDA-NEWS. China is reducing gas purchases from Russia due to the end of the heating season, lockdown and geopolitics, ABN reports. Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, explained that the country's population is locked at home, energy consumption is falling. In addition, it is easier for exporters to send gas to Europe at a good price, he noted.

Aleksey Belogoriev, Deputy Chief Director for the Energy Direction of the Institute for Energy and Finance Foundation, noted the tense situation in world politics as one of the reasons.

China is cautious about trade transactions with Russia, despite foreign policy support. Everything related to foreign economic sanctions, China reacts to such risks very painfully and sensitively, he said.

He added that April is always an unstable month, it is too early to predict anything, you need to wait until May-June.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on the EU member states to determine specific deadlines for the rejection of Russian gas and oil. He said, addressing the Lithuanian parliament, that it is necessary now to “endorse a truly powerful decision” on sanctions against Russia.