Russia`s gas exports to Europe and Turkey rose by 8.1 percent to a record high 193.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2017, Alexei Miller, head of Gazprom, said in a statement on Wednesday, despite EU efforts to cut its reliance on Russian energy.

Gazprom, run by Miller, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, supplies more than a third of the European Union`s gas, according to Reuters.

However, the European Commission has called on EU member states to curb their reliance on Russian energy following Moscow”s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and a clash over gas deliveries between Kiev and Moscow that saw Gazprom cut off supply.

“The rising trend of the record-high data for the second year in a row shows, on one hand, a rising demand for the Russian gas in Europe, and on the other hand, its secure supply in necessary volumes,” Miller said.

Gazprom said its gas deliveries to its largest customer, Germany, jumped by 7.1 percent to 53.4 bcm last year, a new record high.

“According to preliminary data, in 2017, the company supplied a quantity of 193.9 billion cubic meters of gas to countries that are not members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It is about 14.6 billion cubic meters (8.1%) above the previous record of 179.3 billion cubic meters registered in 2016,” Gazprom director said.

Last week, Alexander Medvedev, Deputy General Manager of Gazprom, also said that in 2018 the group controlled by the Russian state intends to export to Europe at least 180 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Such a volume would be the second largest in the company’s history, after the record of over 190 billion cubic meters expected to be reached in 2017.