MOSCOW, January 31. The European Union will not be able to find a real substitute for Russian gas if Moscow decides to reduce or halt supplies and this will cause a major energy crisis in Europe, President of the Russian Institute of Global Economy and International Relations Alexander Dynkin told TASS.
"I do not think so. Hopes were in place for the US liquefied natural gas, they did not deliver," the expert said, commenting on news that Brussels is holding gas talks with the US, Qatar and Azerbaijan for the case if Russia decides to limit or halt supplies.
Introduction of economic sanctions against Russia by the European Union will hit the European economy in the first instance, Dynkin said. "If there is a kind of a moratorium on purchases of Russian hydrocarbons, this will cause a severe crisis in the European Union," he noted.
All the statements of the EU regarding the possible introduction of economic sanctions against Russia due to the situation with Ukraine are "the propaganda stir-up of public opinion" and not the reality, the expert said. "These sanctions will not be taken without a signal from Washington," Dynkin noted. "Such statements are aimed at raising the stakes regarding Russia’s requirements on provision of its own security," he added.