INTERNATIONAL: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said on Wednesday ,February 23,she wanted to end the bloc's dependence on Russian gas hoping a move towards renewables would make it more independent.

Speaking before a meeting with Norway's prime minister, a non-European Union member state which supplies gas to the EU, she has accused Russia of using energy in a geopolitical struggle with the West and with Ukraine.

Russia has instrumentalised energy over the last month, if not to say years, to put pressure, not only on Ukraine but also the European Union. And the European Union is now really determined to get out of the dependency of Russia gas.

On Tuesday, Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas, in response to the Kremlin's recognition of the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Russia currently supplies about 40 percent of Europe's natural gas.