NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told European governments they are in no position to lecture Washington over a US-Russia diesel deal, pointing out that Europe itself bought €6 billion of Russian liquefied natural gas in the first half of this year.

Speaking on the Dutch television programme Pauw & De Wit on Thursday, Rutte said some European countries had "panicked" over the diesel agreement between Russia and the United States last month. "Meanwhile, in the first half of this year, Europe purchased €6 billion in LNG from Russia. That's much more than that diesel deal will ever yield. So, Europe is not holy either," he said.

Record imports before the ban

The figures behind his remarks are stark. European ports received a record 12.18 million tonnes of LNG from Russia's Yamal project in the first nine months of 2026, up 9.5% on the same period last year, according to an analysis of cargo-tracking data by the German group Urgewald. The deliveries were worth an estimated €7.88 billion, and 167 Yamal cargoes docked at EU terminals — roughly one every 1.6 days. France, Belgium and Spain were among the biggest buyers.

The ban arrives in January

The trade continues even as the EU prepares to end it. Under the phase-out agreed by the Council and the European Parliament, LNG bought under short-term contracts has been prohibited since 25 April 2026, while imports under long-term contracts can continue until 1 January 2027. Pipeline gas imports are due to end by September 2027. Rutte's intervention underlines the awkward truth that, two months before the LNG ban takes effect, Europe is still paying Moscow billions for gas.