VLadimir Putin accused, Thursday, April 14, the Europeans of “destabilizing the market” by wanting to do without Russian hydrocarbons and announced that he wanted to redirect Russian energy exports from Europe to Asia. “We are going to assume that in the future deliveries to the west will drop,” said the Russian president during a government meeting devoted to the energy sector in the context of international sanctions. We must therefore “reorient our exports towards the markets in the South and East which are growing rapidly”, he added. “European countries are constantly talking about doing without Russian supplies and by doing this they are destabilizing the market and driving up prices,” the Russian president charged.
“Attempts by Western countries to oust Russian suppliers, to replace our energy resources with alternative supplies will inevitably affect the entire world economy”, warned Vladimir Putin, assuring that “the consequences of such approach can become very painful, and first of all for the initiators of such a policy”. He said a new 2050 energy strategy should be approved by September 15 and a hydrocarbon export infrastructure development plan should be ready by September 1.er June.
“It is necessary to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects, rail, pipelines, ports, which will make it possible in the years to come to redirect the supplies of oil and gas from the West” towards these new destinations, added Vladimir Putin, citing, in addition to “from the South and the East”, the countries of Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. The president also instructed the government to work with companies on ways to replace imported foreign “products, machinery and equipment” essential to these sectors and of which they are deprived with local technologies.
A strategy to circumvent embargoes
This call by the Russian president to develop new outlets for Russian fossil fuels – a “turn towards Asia” and especially China, which began several years ago – comes at a time when the Europeans are considering extending their sanctions to hydrocarbons. from Russia in response to its military intervention in Ukraine. Russian oil and gas, which continue to flow to Europe – their main market – provide significant income for Moscow.
A possible embargo on Russian gas is the subject of heated discussions among EU member states, with Germany being one of the main opponents of an immediate halt to these imports, on which it is very dependent. The EU, US and Japan announced an embargo on Russian coal and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would propose the goal of EU independence from Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
