Germany's economics minister accused the United States and other "friendly" gas-supplying countries of astronomical prices, suggesting that they are profiting from the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.

"Some countries, including friendly ones, sometimes achieve astronomical prices [for their gas]. Of course, that brings with it problems that we have to talk about," Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in an interview with Germany's NOZ newspaper, which was translated by NBC News. He called for more solidarity from the United States when it comes to helping its allies in Europe in need of energy resources. "The United States contacted us when oil prices shot up, and the national oil reserves in Europe were tapped as a result. I think such solidarity would also be good for curbing gas prices," he said.

According to him, the EU should "should pool its market power and orchestrate smart and synchronized purchasing behavior by the EU states so that individual EU countries do not outbid each other and drive up world market prices." The power of the European market is "enormous," and it just needs to be used, he said.