The heads of Russia's Gazprom and China's energy company CNPC discussed future Russian gas supplies to China during talks in Beijing, Gazprom said on Friday, as Moscow seeks stronger ties with the world's biggest energy consumer.

The war between Israel and Iran has revived Chinese leaders’ interest in a pipeline that would carry Russian natural gas to China, according to people close to Beijing’s decision-making, potentially jump-starting a project that has been stalled for years.

Hardeep Puri claimed that the European Union, a group of states threatening the sanctions, is the largest buyer of Russia's LNG exports, followed by China and Japan.

The recent conflict between Israel and Iran has prompted Beijing to renew its interest in the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline and in expanding imports of Russian natural gas, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources in China.

Russia has been seeking a deal to build the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline to deliver 50 billion cubic metres of gas a year to China, but the two sides have not been able to agree on terms.

A number of Russian spies have been sanctioned for conducting a "sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity" including in the UK, the Foreign Office has said.

China has bought 47% of Russia's crude exports, followed by India (38%), the EU (6%), and Turkiye (6%). Turkiye, the largest buyer, has purchased 26% of Russia's oil product exports, followed by China (13%) and Brazil (12%).