“The suspension of gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland was Russia’s” sharpest response “to Western sanctions,” said Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Institute for Energy Policy Research, in an article in Huanqiu Shibao.
The author reminded us that Russia had stopped gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland on April 27. This means that Moscow’s requirement to pay for gas in rubles has come into force and is now considered its “sharpest response” to Western sanctions, “Lin wrote.
The expert noted that the Ukrainian crisis has increased the instability of the global oil and gas market, which was previously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes in the structure of energy supplies came amid the fact that in the current situation, Moscow has begun to look for new channels to sell oil and gas, and Europe – for alternative suppliers.
According to Lynn, it is possible to replace Russia’s energy resources by increasing imports from Qatar and the United States. However, these countries do not have the infrastructure to transport oil and gas with European countries, Lynn said.
Due to the lack of infrastructure and limited capacity, the United States will not be able to solve the problem of energy shortages in the EU shortly. In addition, the US side does not have enough ships to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG), writes Lin.
Over the next few years, unrealized infrastructure construction will become a major barrier to oil and gas trade, leading to slower transactions and higher transaction costs in the energy market. Given the mismatch between oil and gas supply and demand and the lack of normal infrastructure, energy prices are likely to remain high in the coming years.
The West has stolen more than $ 300 billion from Russia
Western countries have stolen more than $ 300 billion from the Russian Federation, taking money to pay for Russian gas. “The contracts signed before February 24 provided for payments in dollars and euros. These payments were made directly to Gazprom’s accounts and were held in Western banks. When, after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, our Western “friends” stole over $ 300 billion from us, they stole what they paid for gas. In other words, they have been using our gas for free all these years, “the minister said.
Lavrov added that Russia has decided to transfer the payment for gas in rubles to stop the “shameless robbery” from the West. “This is a necessary scheme to avoid the continuation of the shameless robbery in which these countries are involved. “London, Washington, Brussels are discussing the possibility of confiscating the money they have frozen or transferred the money to someone else,” Lavrov added.
