Energy Concerns Cause Rift Between European Countries on Russia, Says Expert
07:20 GMT 07.09.2022 (Updated: 17:04 GMT 12.04.2023)
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VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Sputnik), Kirill Krasilnikov - The energy crisis is creating a rift between European countries as their citizens become increasingly dissatisfied with the rising energy prices, Glenn Diesen, a professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway, told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"I think this is causing a bit of a split within Europe now because some are arguing that, perhaps, we should see how we contributed to this crisis while others want to confront Russia till the end. But there is more of a split coming now that the economic pain is felt by the citizen," Diesen said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
The expert recalled that at least 70,000 people already took to the streets of Prague to protest against high energy bills and noted that one cannot discuss this issue without normalizing relations with Russia.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. The West responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia, with the EU pledging to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies. The bloc has already approved seven packages of sanctions against Moscow, including gradual phase-out of Russian oil.
Moscow has taken a number of retaliatory measures, in particular switched gas payments to rubles for countries that have imposed restrictions. On April 27, Russian energy giant Gazprom suspended gas supplies under a contract with Polish dominant gas company PGNiG due to its refusal to pay for Russian gas in rubles. Before that, Poland was receiving up to 10 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.
Moscow has taken a number of retaliatory measures, in particular switched gas payments to rubles for countries that have imposed restrictions. On April 27, Russian energy giant Gazprom suspended gas supplies under a contract with Polish dominant gas company PGNiG due to its refusal to pay for Russian gas in rubles. Before that, Poland was receiving up to 10 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.
