TEHRAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday blamed Western policies for skyrocketing fuel prices, reported Sputnik.
“Capital investments in the traditional energy sector have decreased due to earlier Western political decisions. Banks do not finance, insurance companies do not insure, local authorities do not allocate land for new developments, do not develop pipelines and other means of transportation. Here is the result of the policies of the previous decade,“ Putin told journalists after the trilateral summit, answering a question of whether Russia is being accused of the energy crisis and soaring fuel prices.
The president added that Europe has neglected the traditional energy sources and placed a premium on alternative energy sources.
“I have said this many times before, and I do not know if I should go into detail about the energy policies of European countries that have neglected the importance of traditional energy and have relied on unconventional energy. They are big specialists in unconventional relations. So they decided to put a premium on unconventional energy in the field of energy - solar and wind energy. It turned out to be a long winter. There was no wind. And that’s it,“ Putin said.
He added that proposals to limit exports of oil from Russia would result in a situation similar to that of gas, with skyrocketing prices.
“Currently, we hear all kinds of ideas about limiting the volume of Russian oil and limiting the price of Russian oil. The same thing is happening with gas. It is even surprising that highly educated people are suggesting these limits which will see the same results: prices will rise...oil prices will skyrocket,“ Putin added.
On shifting responsibilities to Gazprom and Moscow for gas supplies, the Russian leader responded that there was no basis since Gazprom has always been and will continue to fulfill its contractual obligations on gas supplies.
“There is no basis whatsoever for our partners to shift or try to shift their own mistakes onto Russia and Gazprom.”
He noted that Western countries closed energy routes and imposed sanctions on gas supplies despite the company’s readiness and capability to pump as much gas as Europe needs.
Kiev closed the Sokhranivka entry point, one of the stations for transit of Russian gas to Europe via the territory of Ukraine, due to political reasons.
Moscow had also warned Western countries against redirecting half of gas volumes intended for pumping via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to the domestic market as it poses difficulties to launch the pipeline immediately.
“The Nord Stream 2 route for shipments can be launched. We discussed this issue with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about a month and a half or two ago that Gazprom had reserved capacities and we had to do something about it.”-Bernama