Moscow: EU has no immedate alternative to buying Russian oil and gas
"There is hardly any reasonable alternative to energy sources from Russia. Taking into account Russia's market share, it becomes obvious that without Russian energy resources it is impossible to guarantee Europe's energy security," Novak wrote in an editorial for the Energeticheskaya Politika industry journal.
- Economy
- DPA
- Published Date: 05:42 | 15 April 2022
- Modified Date: 05:47 | 15 April 2022
Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak has argued in a newspaper editorial that it would be impossible to guarantee Europe's energy security without relying on Russian fossil fuel imports in the medium term.
"There is hardly any reasonable alternative to energy sources from Russia. Taking into account Russia's market share, it becomes obvious that without Russian energy resources it is impossible to guarantee Europe's energy security," Novak wrote in an editorial for the Energeticheskaya Politika (Energy Policy) industry journal.
According to Novak, it would be another five to 10 years before the EU could fully replace Russian oil and gas. Neither the US nor OPEC had sufficient surplus capacity to allow Europe to end Russian energy imports in the short term, Novak argued.
"That is why the fate of European industry and the well-being of EU citizens depend entirely on the rationality of the decisions made by EU leaders," Nowak wrote.