Updated 1:19 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to increase its cooperation with the European Union in energy and values the bloc's reputation of a reliable energy partner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
"We value our decades-long reputation of a reliable energy supplier to the EU, [we are] ready to boost cooperation," the minister said.
The minister added that the supply of gas at a reasonable price was in the interests of both the European Union and Russia.
"Russia and the EU are natural partners in the energy sphere, our cooperation benefits both sides," Lavrov said.
In 2013, Russia delivered a total of 161.1 billion cubic meters to European countries, or almost 30 percent of Europe's gas supply. Fifteen percent was transported via Ukraine and the rest through the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea and the Yamal pipeline through the territories of Belarus and Poland. Thirty-five percent of the European Union's oil supplies were also imported from Russia.
Russia and the European Union are currently engaged in trilateral gas talks over the conditions of an uninterrupted transit of gas via the territory of Ukraine. A new round of talks is scheduled to take place on October 21 in Berlin.
