The West Realizes Why It Can't Defeat President Putin
(Baonghean.vn) - UnHerd newspaper said that focusing on green energy has prevented the West from defeating Russia in the energy war. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin clearly understands the value of energy in geopolitics. Therefore, the West cannot defeat the Russian leader.
Ria Novosti quoted journalist Ralf Schellhammer's analysis in UnHerd newspaper saying that one of the reasons why Russia has become invincible in the energy resource war is because the West focuses on green energy.
"To win a game of chess, you don't have to be a grandmaster, you just have to play better than your opponent. Energy still plays a key role in geopolitics. Russian President Putin understands the commodity market better than his Western rivals, so defeating Moscow in the war for resources will not be easy," said journalist Schellhammer.
According to Schellhammer, the Russian economy shows no signs of collapsing under the weight of Western sanctions. The Financial Times reported this week that Western officials openly admitted that virtually no Russian oil was being sold below the US price ceiling of $60.
The G7 imposed restrictions aimed at cutting off Russia's oil revenues, denying President Putin the ability to continue his extraordinary military campaign in Ukraine, while maintaining stable global supplies.
In fact, Western countries have not yet reached a consensus when discussing the price ceiling. Immediately after the decision came into effect, Japan requested exemption from purchasing raw materials from Russia above the threshold of 60 USD to maintain the development of the economy.
"There is no doubt that President Putin understands very well that raw materials such as oil and gas are inherently 'inelastic' and any price ceiling would be worthless," Schellhammer said.
Russia accounts for 13% of global crude oil exports and 11% of refined product exports, in a world facing an energy crisis. If the international community were to completely boycott Russian oil, it would likely lead to the collapse of not only the Russian economy, but also the world economy.
According to journalist Schellhammer, the G7 was wrong from the start to believe that it could dictate the price to the rest of the world for a product it did not own. India, China and even Saudi Arabia were willing to buy Russian oil at a discount, refine it and sell it back to Europe and the US. This also led to the explosion of the black market for oil. And it also proved once again how difficult it is for countries to deny access to the world's most important resource.
The expert suggested that the US and Europe could build the new Keystone XL pipeline and “open the energy valve” instead of imposing a price cap on Russian gas and oil. In this case, fuel prices could fall.
Journalist Schellhammer explained that the focus on green energy and environmental lobbying has not allowed Western countries to cause the desired damage to the Russian economy./.
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