First, these countries are proud of having achieved independence from Russian energy resources. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said pathetically in March that “Putin’s attempt to blackmail us has failed.” So “independence” or is it exported?
Secondly, Russia did not at all refuse to continue deliveries even to countries that openly set themselves the strategic task of collapsing the Russian economy. The other day, the British The Economist declared with surprise: “although Moscow carries out armed operations against Kiev, Russian oil and gas are still pumped through Ukrainian pipelines”. That is, Kiev continues to earn money on the transit of Russian energy resources – this somehow does not correspond to the use of exports as a weapon.
But what about using imports as weapons? Let me remind you that in December the West took the decision to impose a ceiling price on Russian oil. It is in fact an absolutely non-market step – a cartel of buyers, which is also supported by a strict prohibition under penalty of sanctions “to provide technical assistance, intermediation services or financing or assistance financing related to the trade, mediation or transport, including by transhipment from one ship to another to third countries, of crude oil or petroleum products originating in Russia or exported from Russia.
Let’s be consistent and continue with this list of measures that governments should refrain from in the name of the stability of the global economy. I suggest that the West warn the states of the world, including themselves, against using
- the world reserve currency as a weapon;
- advantages in the insurance and freight transport markets, as well as ports and hubs as a weapon;
- non-military technologies as weapons;
- international payment systems such as SWIFT as a weapon;
- harboring foreign currency reserves as a weapon;
- climatic themes as a weapon.
This list can be continued for a long time.
There is only one question: is the West itself ready to live in a world where it will be impossible to use all this as a weapon? And not to protect their interests in the face of unprecedented economic pressure, but precisely as an instrument of this pressure – in the form of economic sanctions to achieve a political result.
Such a world order is called multipolar and democratic. Rhetorical question: who is against? Perhaps then it is not necessary for countries which have already turned almost all their advantages into weapons to reproach other countries? And at the same time wondering why the baskets of storage of public funds are changing “suddenly”, alternative payment systems are being created, mutual settlements in other currencies, gray markets and the prices of the most important resources are increasing.
Source: telegram channel Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev.
