On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia could halt gas supplies to European markets and?move on to other more lucrative markets.

According to EU officials and a document seen, the European Commission will present a proposal on April 15 to ban Russian oil imports permanently. This is three days after Hungary's parliament election.

"And now,?other markets have opened up. It might be more profitable to stop supplying the European market now. Putin said to Pavel Zarubin, a reporter for Russian state television.

"But this is not a?decision, in this instance, what is called thinking out loud. I will 'definitely'?instruct the Government to work on this matter together with our companies.

Putin said that Russia has always been reliable as an energy supplier, and he will continue to do so with those partners who are also reliable. These include Slovakia and Hungary.

(source: Reuters)