The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrellruled out this Sunday that the Russian president, Vladimir Putincan order to close the tap of the supplies of Petroleum and gas to Europe What reprisal for the harsh economic sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia “It needs to sell its oil and gas,” Borrell assured in an interview with Efe within the framework of the Doha Forum, in which he participated this weekend along with leaders and political strategists from around the world gathered in the Qatari capital to analyze a series of issues of major global concern, such as the war in Ukraine, the refugee crisis or climate change.
The Spanish diplomat stressed that Moscow obtains from the sale of hydrocarbons “a considerable amount of financial resources that it needs, because the sanctions have blocked the assets that the Russian Central Bank has in American, European and Japanese banks”, although it acknowledged that “these are not all the assets” it has, because Moscow “has many in China and in other countries in which we cannot act”. “They are not all the assets, but we have blocked a very important part of their exchange reserves”, he assured.
Putin unpredictable
However, he acknowledged that Putin is a unpredictable person from which anything can be expected: “I am not in Putin’s head and I don’t know what he is going to do. I never thought he would invade, and more than invade, destroy Ukraine as he is doing,” he said.
Europe is in a situation contradictorysince if, on the one hand, it wants to close the tap on oil and gas imports from Russia in order to isolate it and hit it even more in response to the war in Ukraine, its economic sanctions have already had as a collateral effect an increase in the prices of energy that are hitting consumers hard.
To counteract this rise, European countries are trying to convince other hydrocarbon-producing nations to increase their production, efforts that are partly framed by the trip of the high representative of the EU, who after his participation in the Doha Forum, travel this sunday to Kuwait.
Borrell, however, insisted on the need to maintain and intensify sanctions against Russia, since Putin “is pulverizing” Ukrainian cities. “Because he can’t conquer them, he bombs them causing a huge number of civilian casualties,” he said.
Regarding the voices in the United States calling for more action against Russia and the debate about where the limit would be, Borrell indicated that there are no differences between the allies. “We haven’t talked about red lines. We know what we have to do and we do it,” he said.
The difference with the US
“We supply Ukraine with weapons to defend itself, defensive weapons, and we put sanctions on Russia to weaken it, especially the economy that revolves around Putin and the people who support him, the famous oligarchs and the leaders of this political system. And in that we are and in that we will continue”, he assured.
But he recalled that if the United States has decided to ban the import of Russian oil and gas, it is because “they import very little, to say almost nothing,” while European countries “import a lot.”
“A small difference. Giving up what you don’t have is fine, but when you have it, you have to think twice before making a decision, and for the moment (…) the heads of state and government have not made this decision “.
There have been countries, such as France, that have been in favor of maintaining the ban on Russian gas imports as an option, which is opposed by others, especially Germany.
diplomatic exit
Regarding the resolution of the conflict, the diplomat said that the EU is helping to find a diplomatic exitbecause “all wars end, and the sooner the better, with a Stop the fire first and with a peace agreement then”.
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“These things are done with discretionbut there are lines of work to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible and end the suffering of the Ukrainian people”, while predicting that the peace negotiations “will undoubtedly be long and difficult, but the important thing is to stop this war (. ..) that should never have started, that it has no justification and that it is causing enormous suffering”.
“We are almost at four million exiles (…) and 12 million internally displaced. Right now, half of Ukrainian children (…) have had to flee their homes. Some have gone abroad and others they are in other parts of the country. What this war is causing is a humanitarian tragedy,” he concluded.