Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – China’s state-owned media, Global Times, reported that Russia had other targets in its attacks on Ukraine. Namely the Western countries that imposed sanctions on Moscow.
The media said the United States (US) and Europe were the main targets. This came as the US began to guide Western alliances to impose sanctions on Russia, which plunged Europe into an energy crisis and economic hardship.
To strengthen his argument, Global Times exposing the fact that before the war took place and the series of sanctions imposed on Moscow, most European countries depended heavily on energy from Russia. Now, the media wrote, many European countries are on the verge of economic chaos, with inflation skyrocketing.
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“Europe is an important victim of the Ukraine crisis,” Chinese economist Wang Yiwei, a director at Renmin University’s Institute for International Affairs, told the media.
The media also explained how in recent months, the economic problems faced by Europe have repeatedly made headlines. Europe is facing a surge in inflation in commodities ranging from gas to cars to food.
This happened because the energy supply from Russia was reduced in the middle of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. In particular, Russia has reduced gas flows to Europe during the conflict while EU leaders are also reportedly planning to block most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 to punish the country.
Global Times also wrote how the confrontation put Europe in a very dangerous energy crisis situation. Need to know The EU imports about 40% of its total gas consumption from Russia.
“Experts stress that although the tense relationship between Europe and Russia is fueled by Europe’s feelings of insecurity towards Russia, it is also exacerbated by US incitement, as it only pays lip service to the EU that it will help the EU reduce its energy dependence on Russia,” the media wrote. that.
Indeed, the administration of US President Joe Biden has pledged to provide an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European Union this year. This represents about a tenth of the gas the EU now gets from Russia.
However, citing experts, the Global Times said it was only in US interests alone. According to deputy researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yang Chengyu, ultimately the US call for sanctions related to Russia was driven in part by its intention to seek profits, including increasing exports of LNG and oil products to Europe.
On the other hand, Yang also said many other commodity prices also rose in Europe due to the Ukraine crisis, which triggered social chaos. He noted that European countries have been quite dependent on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine, which is one of the main reasons behind recent inflation in Europe.
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Europe in Fog, Russia’s Oil and Gas Embargo Boomerang
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(tfa/sef)
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