(VOVworld) – The European Union is developing a crisis scenario in case Russia completely cuts off its gas supply to Europe, EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Tuesday in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper. Oettinger was confident that Russian President Vladimir Putin "will not politicize energy supplies" in the crisis, especially when 6 EU members are completely dependent on Russia, with 4 of them receiving gas directly from Russia without transiting through Ukraine.

6 EU members are completely dependent on Russia's gas supply. (Photo: Reuters)

The biggest danger, Oettinger said, will be if the transit can no longer be guaranteed for a number of reasons including fighting. In that case, it must be possible to divert gas from the rest of the EU to those countries whose gas sources are disrupted by Russia. If necessary, the EU will take responsibility to ensure a gas supply to Ukraine because Ukraine’s storage tanks are currently able to meet just half of its winter gas demand.