Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in a TV interview aired on May 31 that he expected a "serious fight" for fast-developing and lucrative Asia-Pacific energy markets.
Russia has embarked on a "pivot East", a policy of closer cooperation with Asian countries like China and Japan, in the past few years as Europe has tried to reduce its reliance on Russian energy supplies partly because of political tensions.
Russia has already toppled Saudi Arabia as the biggest oil supplier to China, with supplies surpassing 1 million barrels per day, or around 20% of Russia's total crude oil exports.
"This is a huge market, and a serious fight is expected between the countries for that market from the point of view of energy supplies," Novak told Russia's NTV channel.
His comments suggest that while Russia is cooperating with OPEC on a global deal to cut oil output, Moscow is still ready to fight for market share in lucrative markets.
Novak also said economic growth in Asia would surpass that in developed countries and that Moscow had already benefited from its East-leaning policy.
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