Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

Slovakia threatens to block Ukraine aid over gas transit dispute – media

RT | January 10, 2025

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned that Bratislava may block the European Union’s financial and humanitarian aid to Kiev if the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine is not resolved, Reuters has reported. Fico made the statement after talks with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen on Thursday.

Fico cited potential losses from the blocked transit as the reason for his threat.

“There is nothing – not international law or sanctions – that prevents the transit of gas through Ukraine,” Fico told reporters in Brussels, as quoted by Reuters.

Slovakia has seen the complete cessation of Russian gas flows via Ukraine, a route that previously provided Bratislava with significant transit fees and also provided the gas for its domestic consumption.

According to Fico, Slovakia stands to lose $515 million annually in transit fees and could face an additional $1 billion in increased gas prices due to the disruption.

“If this problem is not resolved, the government of the Slovak Republic will take strict reciprocal measures in the near future,” Fico said.

The prime minister outlined potential retaliatory measures, including exercising Slovakia’s veto power within the European Union on Ukraine-related issues.

He also threatened to suspend humanitarian aid to Ukraine, scaling back support for Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, and halting emergency electricity supplies to the country.

Fico’s remarks follow recent discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, during which the Slovak leader secured assurances of direct gas supplies to Slovakia despite the transit halt.

A meeting initially scheduled between Slovak, Ukrainian, and European Commission officials to address the gas transit issue was canceled after Ukraine declined to participate. Slovakia and the European Commission have since agreed to form a working group to assess the crisis and explore potential EU interventions.

Ukraine has not yet publicly responded to Fico’s latest statements. When the Slovak PM first threatened to cut off electricity to Kiev last month, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said he didn’t think that Bratislava would go through with the threat.

Slovakia, which has a contract with Russia’s Gazprom, requires between 4 billion and 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually to meet its energy needs. Prior to the transit halt, it had been receiving around 3 billion bcm from Russia through Ukraine. In response to the disruption, SPP, Slovakia’s state-owned gas company, is now sourcing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from international suppliers, including BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni, and RWE.

January 10, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , | Leave a comment

Uncle Sam and Banderite bandits destroy Europe while Euro lackeys hail liberation

Strategic Culture Foundation | January 3, 2025

This new year began with a new era that presages Europe sliding irrevocably into economic darkness and abject suzerainty under U.S. dominance.

Uncle Sam has won a decades-long ambition to dominate Europe entirely, thanks to the help from a NeoNazi regime in Ukraine and the pathetic European politicians who hail the slavery of Europe as some liberation.

The people of Europe are facing a foreboding period of economic hardship. We can confidently say that because the most fundamental of economic inputs – fuel energy – is about to become more expensive and precariously supplied for the European Union.

Russia’s decades-long energy relations with Europe are now severed. It seems an astounding final act of reckless self-harm. The European Union’s economies have been floundering from an energy crisis caused by EU leaders willfully cutting off supplies of Russian gas. Now, with the last major transit route shut down, Europe is heading toward economic, social, and political self-destruction.

On Wednesday, New Year’s Day, the Ukrainian regime cut off the last supply route of Russian gas to the European Union. This regime, which glorifies Stepan Bandera and other Nazi-era fascists, is, in effect, holding the entire European Union hostage with its Russophobia and relentless corruption.

The arrogance and audacity are astonishing. The Ukrainian regime does not have an elected leader (Zelensky canceled elections last year), it is not a member of the EU, it has milked European taxpayers of hundreds of billions of Euros, and now has unilaterally shut down the last gas pipeline from Russia to the EU.

Ironically, the pipeline was called the Brotherhood Pipeline. It was conceived in the 1970s and began operating in the 1980s, carrying natural gas from Russia’s Western Siberia to the EU. Ukraine received generous transit fees for the overland route. The decades-long era of transcontinental cooperation was killed on December 31 by a Banderite regime that has the cheek to claim its actions are virtuous to “stop Russian blood money”.

Incredibly, too, various European leaders also hailed the Ukrainian action as a liberation from Russian energy dependence. Some Western media even tried to cast Moscow as the villain that instigated the cut-off. The New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, for example, inverted reality with the headline: “Russia ends exports of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine”.

To his credit, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico seems to be the only sane leader among the EU’s 27 member states. He condemned what he called Ukraine’s “sabotage” of Europe’s energy supply and its economies. Fico warned that the European Union is facing a full-blown economic disaster as a result.

The Ukraine transit route supplied Slovakia, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic. Now, those countries will have to find alternative supplies from international markets. The Ukrainian route also supplied Moldova, which is facing an immediate energy crisis. Russia claims that the Moldavian government owes outstanding bills for past gas supply.

The Brotherhood Pipeline harks back to an era of friendship and cooperation even though it was conceived during the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union. The 4,500-kilometer pipeline was partly financed by German capital.

Another ambitious Cold War-era supply route was the Yamal Pipeline, which ran over 4,100 km from Siberia to Poland and Germany. Its operation was halted in 2022 by Poland following the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine.

The more recently constructed Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that ran 1,200 km under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany were blown up in 2022. That covert act of sabotage was no doubt carried out by the United States under the orders of President Joe Biden, according to the respected investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.

The upshot is that all major Russian natural gas supply lines to Europe have now been terminated. The only one remaining is Turk Stream which runs under the Black Sea to Turkey. But it mainly supplies Balkan countries that are not in the EU.

In the space of two years, Russia has gone from being the major supplier of EU gas imports (over 40 percent) to being a minor source. The big winner of the phenomenal market disruption is the United States, whose exports of liquefied natural gas to the EU have tripled. Another winner is Norway, which is not an EU member. Other sources of gas for Europe are Azerbaijan and Algeria.

However, the unprecedented extra costs to Europe for this enormous rearrangement in its energy trade are encumbering the EU economies, industries and households with crippling burdens. New pipelines have to be built, as well as new terminals to receive the shipped gas. U.S. exports cost 30 to 40 percent more than the Russian product.

The slump in the German economy from higher energy costs is directly caused by the cutting off of abundant and affordable Russian gas. And it is going to get even worse. The grim fate of Germany heralds the economic misery that the whole EU is sliding headlong into.

The history of Europe’s economic demise is as obvious as it is blatant.

Of course, it is all about the United States using and abusing its Western “allies” for its own interests. For Western imperialists, there is no such thing as allies, only interests. And the Americans are exacting that maxim to the hilt.

For decades, the U.S. has vehemently opposed the energy trade between the EU and Russia. Back in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s administration tried its best to block the development of the Brotherhood Pipeline with threats of economic sanctions. The Americans openly said they didn’t want to see Europe and the Soviet Union developing cooperative relations.

At least in earlier times, the European governments appeared to have more independence and backbone. Germany, France, Italy and others rebuffed Washington’s demands to shut down the gas projects.

The long-running strategic aim of the U.S. to displace Russia as an energy supplier to Europe has now been realized. It’s a sign of the desperate times and lawlessness that American military operatives attack European infrastructure.

The blowing up of the Nord Stream pipelines and the proxy war in Ukraine have secured the strategic aim of the U.S. and its NATO proxy – keeping the Germans (Europeans) down, the Americans in, and the Russians out.

So much for the free-market capitalism and rules-based order that American and European elites preach. The practice is brute economic competition and dominance down the barrel of a gun. Millions of lives have been destroyed in this “great game” of American imperialist chicanery, and the proxy war in Ukraine is risking the escalation to a nuclear Third World War.

The Banderite regime – an echo of the Nazi past – has enabled the United States to enslave Europe to Washington’s imperialist desires.

Tragically, a coterie of elitist European political leaders are so obsessed with Russophobia and servility to their American overlord that they are crowing with delight at cutting off Russia.

Russia will not suffer. Its vast energy resources are finding alternative lucrative global markets. The victims are the European citizens who are being plunged into wretched economic hardship due to the machinations of American capital, its Banderite tools, and Euro fools.

January 4, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Slovak PM slams ‘irrational’ EU

RT | December 30, 2024

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has sent an open letter to European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging immediate action to address Ukraine’s imminent halt of natural gas transit through its territory to the EU.

A transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine is set to expire on December 31. Kiev has refused to extend it, citing the conflict with Moscow.

In a letter posted on Facebook on Sunday, Fico accused Kiev of failing to consider the potential impact its decision will have on the EU economy. Brussels’ acceptance of the situation is “absolutely irrational and wrong,” he stressed.

Gas transit through Ukraine accounts for only 3.5% of EU consumption, the letter states, citing an analysis carried out by Slovakia’s main gas supplier and trader, SPP. Despite the modest share, any halt would disrupt the market, raising gas prices by roughly 30%, the document claims. Such a price spike would translate to an additional annual cost of € 40-50 billion for European households and infrastructure, Fico argued.

“It is in the interest of all EU citizens that European efforts to support Ukraine should be carried out rationally, and not in the form of self-destructive and extremely damaging gestures,” the Slovak prime minister noted. Kiev’s decision will lead to “reciprocal measures,” he warned.

Fico also said Russia “will easily place such a small volume of gas in other markets,” thus mitigating its losses.

The situation requires urgent attention from EU institutions and member states to mitigate risks of supply shortages, he added.

Landlocked Slovakia’s position within Europe’s energy network makes it highly susceptible to disruptions in natural gas supply. The country is reliant on Russia for around 85% of its gas demand, primarily through pipelines transiting Ukraine.

Fico has repeatedly voiced concerns regarding EU energy policy. He has consistently advocated for pragmatic approaches to energy security, often clashing with Brussels on its approach to the Ukraine conflict, namely the issue of military support to Kiev and the issue of economic sanctions against Russia.

European Union leaders have repeatedly expressed confidence in the bloc’s ability to manage without Russian gas, accusing Moscow of using energy as a geopolitical weapon.

The European Commission and Council have yet to issue formal responses to the Slovak leader’s letter.

December 30, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , | Leave a comment

Major Winners and Losers of Halting Russian Gas Transit Through Ukraine

By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 29.12.2024

As the Ukraine gas transit contract with Russia is set to end, Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK received its first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US on December 27.

Winners

US LNG producers:

  • The halting of Russia’s gas deliveries through Ukraine will increase the US share and reduce competition in the EU market.
  • The latest US LNG delivery amounts to 100 million cubic meters of gas (1 TWh of energy, or 3,530,000 MMBtu), bought by D.Trading, DTEK’s pan-European trading subsidiary. The shipment arrived at Greek LNG terminals such as Revithoussa, where it will be “re-gasified” and distributed “through EU and Ukrainian gas networks,” according to DTEK. One network, the Vertical Corridor, will transmit US LNG deliveries between Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
  • LNG from the US for Europe is at least 30-40% more expensive than pipeline gas from Russia.
  • In December 2022, the US became the world’s leading exporter of LNG amid Europe’s energy crisis and the sabotage attack on Russia’s Nord Stream pipelines.

Losers

  • Ukraine: Ukraine will lose almost $1 billion annually from Russian gas transit fees. Additionally, Ukraine is likely to pay more for US LNG coming through the Revithoussa LNG terminal than for Russian pipeline gas, which used to come in the form of a “virtual reverse.”
  • Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia which have long relied on Russian gas transit through Ukraine, will face challenges. Being landlocked, access to LNG delivered to marine terminals is costly and difficult. Long-term contracts with Russia’s Gazprom allowed them to buy natural gas considerably cheaper than EU gas spot prices. For instance, Austria had been receiving Russian gas at a price almost three times cheaper than EU spot prices in 2022, according to Reuters.
  • European Union: After sliding to $11.79/MMBtu in October, European gas prices rose to almost $15/MMBtu on November 22. On December 27, benchmark futures rose further by 5% on the news of halted Russian gas transit through Ukraine. Stopping the supply of Russian gas through Ukraine will cost Europe around $125 billion in total losses in 2025-2026, according to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

December 29, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Slovakia threatens Ukraine with power cuts

RT | December 28, 2024

Slovakia could cut electricity supplies to Ukraine if Kiev stops transporting Russian gas to EU nations, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said.

The Central European country, whose economy heavily relies on Russian gas, receives its supplies through Ukrainian territory via Soviet-era pipelines. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal announced earlier this month that, starting from 2025, Kiev will stop transporting Russian gas and will only use its pipeline system to deliver gas from alternative suppliers. The current contract with Moscow expires on December 31, with Kiev stating that it would not renew the deal.

“After January 1, we will assess the situation and potential reciprocal measures against Ukraine,” Fico said in a video message on Facebook. “If necessary, we will stop supplying electricity that Ukraine urgently needs during network outages.” He added that Bralistava could consider other retaliatory steps.

“Stopping the transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine is not just a hollow political gesture. It’s an extremely costly move, one that we, in the European Union, will pay for,” Fico said.

He wrote on Facebook that, by scrapping the transit deal, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky “will cause billions worth of damages to the EU, including the Slovak Republic, and there will be a further reduction of the EU’s competitiveness.”

Ukrainian officials have criticized Fico for his recent trip to Moscow, arguing that the “pro-Russian” stance of Slovakia and Hungary are damaging the EU’s reputation and undermining the bloc’s resolve to help Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin argued this week that by terminating the transit deal Ukraine was “punishing” EU countries, as the continent continues to battle the energy crisis.

“We have always stood for [energy] supplies, for the depoliticization of economic issues. We have never refused supplies to Europe,” Putin said.

Kiev has so far not responded to potential sanctions from Slovakia. Bloomberg cited a person familiar with the matter as saying that Ukraine’s “counter-move” could be halting the transport of Russian oil to Slovakia.

December 28, 2024 Posted by | Economics | , , | Leave a comment

European countries fear losing reliable Russian gas as Zelensky remains stubborn

By Ahmed Adel | December 26, 2024

The contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine is just days away from expiring, but several European countries, including Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, seek to extend critical supplies. This agreement is necessary for Central Europe since there are few replacement options.

Major Central European gas companies have signed a statement calling for the continuation of transit. These include Slovakia’s SPP, its gas network operator Eustream, Hungary’s MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc and MVM Group, as well as trade associations and major industrial customers from Hungary, Austria, Italy and Slovakia, Bloomberg reports.

“We will present the declaration to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, so that she has first-hand information about the threat to energy and economic security in our region,” SPP Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Vojtech Ferencz said.

Russia’s share of Hungary’s gas imports is 47%, while Slovakia’s is almost 90%. Austria also received 97% of its gas imports from Gazprom in January 2024. Economists attribute this high dependence to infrastructure and long-term contracts. Nord Stream, Yamal and transit pipelines through Ukraine provide uninterrupted direct supplies, and long-term agreements ensure the predictability of gas supplies.

Geography is also a tangible factor in this situation. Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia are landlocked, so access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) is difficult. Any other means of supply would raise tariffs and result in discontent among the population. This means alternative supplies can only be obtained through intermediaries, which is much more expensive. For example, the price of LNG is several times higher this way for these countries.

The countries mentioned, Gazprom’s main customers in Europe, have built their energy policies around reliable supplies from Russia for many years.

Many observers believe that Austria, Hungary and Slovakia have little to rely on. Traditional gas sources for Europe—Norway, Algeria, and Azerbaijan—are unable to cover the volume of imports needed. Together, they are ready to supply up to 45 billion cubic meters a year, which would create a deficit of about 15 billion cubic meters in the markets of individual EU countries. Experts predict that these European countries could turn to the Balkan Stream pipeline. However, its capacity fully occupies the Balkan countries.

In this context, Brussels is categorical and unwilling to budge from its stubborn position. Reuters quoted a representative of the European Commission as saying that the regulator has taken an unequivocal position.

“The Commission does not support any discussions on the contract extension nor other solutions to maintain transit flows and has not been involved in any kind of negotiations on this,” the spokesperson said.

It is recalled that the current agreement on the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine expires on December 31, 2024. The Kiev regime has repeatedly said they do not plan to extend the agreement. On December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed during a press conference that there would be no new contract for the transit of gas through that European country.

Europe faces a new energy crisis due to the decrease in gas reserves, the arrival of cold weather and sanctions imposed by the United States against the Russian bank Gazprombank, which handled payment transactions for importers of Russian fuel. Fuel prices have already risen by 45% during 2024.

At the same time, stocks are rapidly declining due to the cold, resulting in increased demand. According to Bloomberg, in the second quarter of 2025, during the warm season when gas typically becomes cheap enough to fill tanks, prices could be higher than in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia exported “around 50 billion cubic meters of gas in the first 11 months – despite all the statements and pressure from sanctions – because it is a very ecological product, it is in demand, and Russian gas is the most advantageous in terms of supply logistics and price.”

He said that Russia’s LNG exports will amount to 33 million tons by the end of 2024, adding that gas reserves in European storage facilities are currently 3-5% lower than in the past five years.

The EU has damaged its economy by refusing to cooperate with Moscow, as evidenced by the decline in production, bankruptcies and recession in the bloc countries. Russia has not denied any country the supply of its energy resources even when the European Union expected the country to collapse without energy revenue.

However, Brussels insists on a complete break with the Russian energy sector and the definitive rejection of energy from Russia in favor of more expensive alternative supplies, especially from the United States, and this will only hurt many European countries, particularly those in landlocked Central Europe.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

December 26, 2024 Posted by | Economics | , , , , | Leave a comment

Zelensky’s testing our patience – Slovak MEP

RT | December 21, 2024

Vladimir Zelensky has “gone too far” in its dispute with Slovakia over natural gas, let alone turning Ukraine into a “zombie state” that’s entirely dependent on the West, Slovakian MEP Milan Uhrik has told RT.

Bratislava and Kiev have ended up in a bitter row over supplies of Russian natural gas across Ukraine. The country has refused to extend its gas-transit deal with Russia, on which Slovakia depends for energy supply, and which is set to expire at the end of the year.

While the country, which borders western Ukraine, has enough gas in storage to make it through the winter, the impending end of transit likely spells trouble for Bratislava in the near future, Uhrik is suggesting.

“We have a valid contract with Gazprom which we want to fulfill but Zelensky is preventing us from doing so simply because he wants to harm our economy and simply because he wants more, I don’t know, finance or more weapons from our country, and this is what we do not agree with,” the MEP said.

With a recession “coming to the European Union,” it would be “very unwise to completely cut off from Russian cheap energy sources,” Uhrik also warned.

People are getting angry [at] Zelensky because this has gone too far. He is simply testing our patience, because we did nothing wrong and yet he decides to destroy or continue with destruction, not only of Ukraine but also of our country.

The Slovakian lawmaker questioned the legitimacy of Zelensky’s “very sensitive and serious” decisions, pointing at the cancellation of presidential elections in the country, and to dwindling “support among Ukrainian people.”

Ukraine has long turned into a “zombie state” that is fully dependent on the collective West as a whole and the EU in particular, Uhrik pointed out. While the EU has helped Kiev “with more than €130 billion” (over $135 billion), in return it has been getting “even more and more demands” and “more and more insults,” with the latest row able to “easily raise a bigger conflict between Slovakia and Ukraine,” the MEP added.

December 22, 2024 Posted by | Economics | , , | Leave a comment

Slovakia warns of ‘serious conflict’ with Kiev

RT | December 20, 2024

Slovakia is considering retaliation against Ukraine over its refusal to continue transit of Russian gas to the EU nation, according to Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Kiev is determined not to renew a multi-year transit contract with Russia, which allowed the fuel to flow across its territory despite the armed conflict between the two nations. Slovakia is one of the recipients of the gas, which Ukraine intends to halt next year.

A “serious conflict” is possible if Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky “doesn’t release our gas,” Fico wrote on Facebook on Friday. He included excerpts from his press conference in Brussels on Thursday, after he and Zelensky discussed the issue at a meeting held behind closed doors in the Belgian capital.

Bratislava is sympathetic towards Kiev’s situation and Zelensky’s predicament, the prime minister said, but Slovakia is “not at any war” either with Russia or Ukraine, and the Slovaks are not servants doing the bidding of Zelensky. Kiev is “losing decisively,” while Zelensky “absolutely rejects any ceasefire,” he said.

Fico said the proposals regarding the gas situation, which Zelensky outlined to him at a European Council meeting, seemed “absurd.” One idea was to allow the flow to continue on condition that Russia would not receive any payment until the end of the Ukraine conflict.

“What fool will give us gas for free?” Fico asked journalists.

Slovakia is helping Ukraine by providing non-military assistance, including by transferring electricity to its capacity-starved power grid, the prime minister said. Relations between the two nations cannot be a one-way street, Fico asserted, adding: “I cannot completely rule out reciprocal measures.” His government will consider its options over the next week, he said.

Kiev previously floated the idea of letting gas that is not Russian in origin to be pumped through the Soviet-built pipelines on Ukrainian territory. Azerbaijan could be the source of such supplies, according to officials.

On Tuesday, European buyers of Russian pipeline gas, including Slovakia’s SPP, warned the European Commission that the looming termination of Ukrainian transit posed significant risks to members of the EU, and urged Brussels to act.

The escalating row has been caused by Kiev, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, during his annual Q&A marathon. Russian gas giant Gazprom “can live” without the transit, he insisted.

December 20, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Calls in Slovakia for referendum on lifting Russia sanctions

RT | December 17, 2024

Two Slovak political parties have organized a conference to promote calls for a referendum on lifting sanctions against Russia, and have collected more than 160,000 signatures for a petition.

The initiative was organized by the left-wing Party of Slovak Revival and the right-wing Homeland Party, which held an event in Bratislava on Monday, attended by former justice minister Stefan Harabin, as well as representatives of the NGO Free Zone and the Association of Slovak Intellectuals.

Speaking at the event, Harabin described relations with Russia as “an existential question,” adding that, without Moscow’s support, Slovakia “may not preserve our statehood.” He spoke out against what he called “provoking the Russians with sanctions,” adding that these restrictions violate the law.

He also pointed out that the sanctions were harming the national economy. “Almost a million Slovaks live below the poverty line or in poverty. At the same time, sanctions are introduced, and we import the same Russian gas, but at a price four times higher. And people have nothing to eat. What kind of representatives of the state are these?” he asked, referring to the Slovak government.

According to Pavol Slota, the leader of the Homeland Party, more than 160,000 people have signed a petition saying “Russia is not my enemy.” “Let’s stop the anti-Russian sanctions together, Slovaks FORWARD!!” he wrote on Facebook.

The petition calls for a referendum to be held, posing the question: “Do you agree that the Slovak Republic should not apply sanctions against the Russian Federation, which harm Slovak citizens, tradesmen and entrepreneurs?” At least 350,000 signatures are needed for a referendum to be held.

Slota described the petition as “a civic action,” while blasting mainstream media for what he claimed were attempts to downplay the idea. “I believe that there is still a sufficient number of sane people in Slovakia,” he said.

Under far-right Prime Minister Robert Fico, Slovakia has been critical of the Western approach to the Ukraine conflict, cutting off state military aid to Kiev. He has also repeatedly urged the EU to drop restrictions on Russia, insisting that the bloc must resume dialogue with Moscow once the conflict is over.

December 17, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | | Leave a comment

EU has failed to cut energy ties with Russia – commissioner

RT | December 12, 2024

The EU has failed to overcome its dependence on Russian energy, and needs a new plan to wean itself off Moscow’s supplies, the bloc’s new energy chief told Politico on Thursday.

In his first interview since taking the post, Dan Jorgensen highlighted the growth in Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases.

The share of Russian LNG on the EU market reached 20% this year, according to the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, despite Brussels’ pledge to stop consuming Russian fuel by 2027.

“It’s obvious to everybody that something new needs to happen because… now it’s beginning to go in the wrong direction,” the EU Energy commissioner said, while pledging to present “a tangible roadmap that will include efficient tools and means for us to solve the remaining part of the problem.”

The new measures will target “gas primarily, but also oil and nuclear” and will be formulated by mid-March, Jorgensen said, noting that five EU countries still rely on Russia for nuclear fuel.

The EU declared its intention to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Supplies of higher-cost US fuel have replaced much of the cheap pipeline gas that was previously delivered by Russia.

However, efforts have stalled in recent months, and the EU continues to buy billions of euros’ worth of Russian gas each month. In 2024, the bloc is expected to import 10% more LNG from Russia than in 2023, according to energy analytics firm Kpler.

Politico noted, however, that any plan to sever energy ties with Russia in the next few years would be strongly opposed by EU members that are still heavily reliant the imports, particularly Hungary and Slovakia, whose leaders Viktor Orban and Robert Fico have resisted energy sanctions on Russia.

Jorgensen’s proposal is also likely to come just weeks after a long-term contract for Russian gas transit via Ukraine is set to expire, on December 31. The EU still receives around 5% of its gas from Russia via Ukraine’s gas transit network, according to the latest data.

Last month, Bloomberg warned of an imminent energy crisis in Western and Central Europe due to the latest US sanctions against Russia’s Gazprombank, the primary bank for energy-related transactions. The outlet said that rapidly depleting gas reserves and potential supply cuts from Russia threaten to exacerbate an already difficult situation.

December 12, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , , | Leave a comment

Türkiye protests latest US sanctions against Russia

RT | November 26, 2024

Türkiye is currently in talks with the US to secure a sanctions waiver that would allow it to continue using Russia’s Gazprombank to pay for natural gas imports, the country’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters on Monday.

Last week, the US Treasury Department imposed restrictions on more than 50 Russian financial institutions, including Gazprombank, which is linked to the eponymous Russian gas giant, and six of its international subsidiaries. The sanctions have effectively cut off Russia’s primary bank for energy-related transactions from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, meaning it can no longer be used for dollar-based transactions.

According to Bayraktar, unless a special exemption is made, Türkiye, which imports nearly all of its gas, won’t be able to pay Moscow for natural resources. Russia currently accounts for more than 50% of the country’s pipeline imports, according to Reuters.

In his comments, Bayraktar pointed to a previous waiver granted to Ankara when Washington had sanctioned Iran in 2012. At the time, the sanctions against Tehran included a clause that allowed the US President to issue a special exemption if an oil-importing country faced “exceptional circumstances” that made it impossible to reduce Iranian oil imports. Bayraktar has argued that Türkiye now needs a similar waiver for Gazprombank in order to secure its supply of natural gas.

“These sanctions will affect Turkey. We cannot pay. If we cannot pay, we cannot buy the goods. The foreign ministry is in talks,” Bayraktar said.

The latest US sanctions have also sparked disdain among several other European buyers of Russian gas. Last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accused Washington of trying to undermine energy security in the Central European region by imposing restrictions on Gazprombank.

In a post on Facebook, the diplomat stated that any attempts to jeopardize energy supplies to Hungary are “considered as an offence against our sovereignty” and stressed that Budapest denounces all such attacks and has vowed to “resist the pressure and pursue our national interests.”

He added that Hungary is currently in talks with other countries, such as Bulgaria, Serbia, Azerbaijan and Slovakia in hopes of finding a solution for securing energy supplies.

Meanwhile, despite the EU announcing plans to eliminate its dependence on Russian energy, it has remained one of the world’s major importers of Russian fossil fuels while its members have purchased record volumes of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Moscow.

November 26, 2024 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hungary slams US for destabilizing regional energy security

RT | November 23, 2024

Washington’s decision to blacklist Russia’s Gazprombank, a key conduit for gas purchases from Russia, is aimed at undermining energy security in the Central European region, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has claimed.

Earlier this week, the US Treasury Department imposed blocking sanctions on more than 50 Russian financial institutions, including Gazprombank, linked to the eponymous Russian gas giant, and six of its international subsidiaries.

The newly introduced restrictions effectively cut off Russia’s primary bank for energy-related transactions from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, meaning it can no longer conduct dollar-based transactions.

“Including Gazprombank to the sanctions list is a decision that deliberately puts some Central European countries in a difficult situation, and deliberately jeopardizes the security of energy supplies” to several nations in the region, Szijjarto wrote on Facebook on Friday.

The Hungarian diplomat stated that any attempts to jeopardize energy supplies to Hungary “either by imposing sanctions or by cutting off transit supplies are considered as an offence against our sovereignty.”

“We reject all the attacks of the kind against our sovereignty, resist the pressure, and pursue our national interests,” he said.

Szijjarto added that he discussed the issue of gas supplies to Hungary with the first deputy head of the Russian Energy Ministry, Pavel Sorokin, on the sidelines of the Istanbul Energy Forum, which convened in Türkiye on November 22.

“We reviewed the situation in the field of gas transportation and confirmed that we will support necessary cooperation for secure energy supplies to Hungary,” he stated.

Budapest is also discussing the situation with the energy ministers of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and Serbia, and consulting with Slovakia to find a solution for securing energy supplies, Szijjarto added.

EU nations are still purchasing record volumes of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia. Despite the bloc’s plans to eliminate its dependence Russian energy, it remains one of the world’s major importers of Russian fossil fuels.

In August, pipeline gas comprised the largest share of the EU’s purchases of Russian fossil fuels (54%), followed by LNG (25%), according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

November 23, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , , , | Leave a comment