Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country wanted to focus its exports on “fast-growing markets”, namely countries in the south and east of Russia, in the near future.
The 69-year-old leader warned that “attempts by Western countries to blackmail” Russian suppliers “will inevitably affect the entire world economy.”
“Export diversification needs to be carried out. We need to assume that in the future, energy shipments to the west will decrease,” Putin said in a meeting with energy companies and officials, Thursday (14/4/2022), quoted from CNN International.
“Therefore, it is important to consolidate the trend of recent years: step by step, reorient our exports to the fast-growing markets of the south and east. To do this in the near future, it is time to identify key infrastructure facilities and start construction on them.”
Putin added that there was no reasonable alternative to Russian gas. He warned that if Russia’s energy supplies were squeezed it would affect the entire world economy and have “painful” consequences.
“Efforts by Western countries to blackmail Russian suppliers and replace our energy resources with alternative supplies will inevitably affect the entire world economy. The consequences of such a move can be very painful, even for the policymakers themselves. What is surprising here is what Our so-called partners from hostile countries admit that they cannot do without Russia’s energy resources, including natural gas,” he explained.
“A plausible alternative for Europe simply does not exist. Yes, it is possible, but at the moment, it does not exist. Everyone understands this; there is absolutely no free volume in today’s global market, and supply from other countries, especially from The United States, which can be sent to Europe, will burden consumers many times over and will affect people’s living standards and the competitiveness of the European economy,” he added.
Not only that, Putin also said that there had been a failure to pay for shipments of Russian energy exports. Because, as is known, Russia now requires payments using its own currency, to reduce dependence on dollars and euros.
“Banks from hostile countries are delaying the transfer of payments. I will remind you, you should transfer payments for energy resources in the national currency, to gradually move away from the dollar and euro. In general, we intend to increase the use of national currency radically in the foreign trade system,” Putin said.
Amid the war in Ukraine, the European Union is trying to cut Russian gas imports by 66% this year and cut its dependence entirely on Russian energy by 2027.
A new sixth round of sanctions has also been discussed, and several EU officials have called for action against Russia’s oil and gas exports. But an imminent ban on Russian gas use would wreak havoc on Germany, which relies on Russia for about 46% of its natural gas by 2020, according to the International Energy Agency.
In late March, Putin delivered an ultimatum to “unfriendly” countries to pay for their energy in rubles from April 1 or risk being cut off from vital supplies. Germany, France and other EU governments have refused, although they have not been cut off from the Kremlin’s energy exports until now.
(tfa / tfa)
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