European nations imported the most gas from Russian sources yesterday in months. They stocked up, but it’s nothing more than a Hail Mary pass.
Putin now wants gas payments in rubles and he wants buyers to use his system, not SWIFT. Putin’s spokesperson said that with the sanctions as they are, they’d be giving them gas for free. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov said Russia won’t give Europe gas for free.
Russian gas giant Gazprom has officially halted all deliveries to Europe via the Yamal-Europe pipeline. Gas supplies on April Fool’s Day and today now flow in the opposite direction, Reuters reports.
Biden promised to boost LNG exports but we’re maxed out. So, feeble Joe was inaccurate about something that is critical to Europeans.
Europe also doesn’t have the infrastructure yet for more imports of LNG. It will take to 2030 by some estimates.
When Merkel, who was basically the leader of the EU, decided to use Russian gas and oil, Trump tried to convince her otherwise. She wouldn’t listen.
Now, Germany and the rest of the EU are sanctioning Russia’s bank and their access to SWIFT while dependent on their fuel. It’s the dumbest thing they could have done outside of listening to the US president who is mentally unfit.
Biden promised the ruble would collapse under the sanctions but it has recovered.
THE SANCTIONS HURT THE WEST
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday, “I must say this very clearly: the sanctions we have imposed so far don’t work. The best evidence is the ruble exchange rate,” Morawiecki said on Saturday.
“The ruble exchange rate, this litmus test, has returned to the level it was before the Russian aggression against Ukraine. What does it mean? It means that all economic, financial, budgetary, and monetary measures have not worked as some leaders wished. It needs to be said very loudly,” he added, speaking at a center for Ukrainian refugees in Otwock near Warsaw.
The West is determined, however, and they are coming up with new sanctions.
So, why are they doing it? The Great Reset?
Morawiecki wants a total blockade which is against international law.
IN THEIR BRILLIANCE, THEY’RE DOUBLING DOWN
The EU is working on a new package of sanctions on Russia, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.
According to Gentiloni, the new measures are designed to be difficult to bypass.
“We are working on additional packages of sanctions, but to clarify, they do not include the energy sector at the moment. First of all, we are trying to limit [Russia’s] ability to circumvent these sanctions,” he said, as cited by ANSA news agency.
“Together with the US, we in the EU have set up a Freeze and Seize task force, which aims to deal with the assets of [Russian] oligarchs and the conversion of rubles, to prevent [previously introduced] sanctions from being circumvented,” he explained, adding that most recently, the US suggested the next round of restrictions to target technology and supply chains connected to Russia’s military industry, “and this is a path the EU may also follow.”
Check out the EU’s exposure here:
Russia vs. EU27 – no prizes for guessing who hold the leverage in the relationship. pic.twitter.com/g8iKfW7O4O
— Gamma Flip (@gammaflip) April 2, 2022
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