The western sanctions against Russia have brought Moscow and Beijing closer, according to an expert from the research firm Wood Mackenzie.

Because of its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged involvement in a conflict opposing regime forces and pro-Russian separatists, western countries have imposed various sanctions on Moscow, which have hinder its economic development  

China, which has seen its energy demand increase, has become a more reliable partner for Moscow as its relations with European countries have increasingly deteriorated, said Michael Moynihan, Russia expert of the global consulting company Wood Mackenzie, Tuesday 

"For many years, Russia has tried to increase its energy relations with China. The sanctions made this period faster. There is an investment plan worth $30 billion just for a pipeline from Siberia to China. Last year in May, China and Russia signed a $400 billion worth energy deal," Moynihan said at the Second Russian Energy Forum: Finance and Investment in London, sponsored by Turkey's Anadolu Agency.

Moynihan stressed that China urgently needed to secure its energy sources and it needs Russian gas and oil for it.

"It’s an advantage for Russia to sell natural gas to Europe in the west, and to China in the east," he said.

In May 2014, China and Russia agreed on a 30-year, $400 billion deal to supply China with natural gas from fields in eastern Siberia. In addition, Russia’s top gas producer, Gazprom, and China's National Petroleum Corporation, one of the country's largest oil and gas companies, signed an agreement to supply 30 billion cubic meters of gas over the next 30 years during the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014.