MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. Konstantin Kosachev, a Federation Council deputy speaker, on Tuesday said a partial embargo on Russian oil imports agreed by the heads of state and government of the European Union will deal a blow to the competitiveness of the economy and the well-being of the population in European countries.
"By imposing an oil embargo against Russia during the Brussels summit, EU leaders successfully dealt another blow to the competitiveness of their economy and the well-being of the population," he said on Telegram. "The self-inflicted damage was partially weakened as the restrictions will affect only oil supplies by ship, while pipelines remain unaffected yet."
He said that two-thirds of Russian oil go to the EU by tankers, and the northern line of the Druzhba oil pipeline to Poland and Germany will also be cut off, while the remaining 10%-11% goes by the pipeline’s southern toute to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which rely on pipeline supplies from Russia. "An exception will be made exclusively for them, although they will be forced to refuse as soon as possible. After all, the voice of reason in the EU is not welcome today, idiocy should be collective," Kosachev said.
According to the lawmaker, several factors in this situation converged at once: the loss of independence by the EU, "which today is implementing the Anglo-Saxon agenda that is suicidal for it, passing it off as decisiveness"; and the economic situation when the rise of the Chinese economy and the rapid growth of Asia as a whole led to an increase in energy prices. "Even before the Ukrainian crisis, the price of oil and coal doubled, and gas rose in price tenfold from April to December 2021. Cutting yourself off in such an environment from direct supplies of cheap oil from Russia is the perfect gift for competitors made by Brussels. If earlier they were looking for agents of the Kremlin, now it’s time for them to look for those who work for "friendly" economies" elsewhere," he said.
He said another factor was a "green" fanaticism that swept Europe at a "very good time." It "spurred the price of fossil resources, while increasing the demand for energy and raw materials and making it difficult to invest in new oil fields," the lawmaker said.
"As a result, they have already started talking about the so-called "greenflation," Kosachev said.
Other markets
Speaking about Russian oil, the lawmaker said there are other markets. "Yes, problems are inevitable in connection with the redirection of flows and with overcoming the blocking efforts of the West," he said. "But the actions of our opponents can provoke an energy crisis of such a magnitude that it will be consumers rather than resource suppliers who will be affected."
The deputy speaker of the Federation Council also added that "the wind in the heads of European politicians can create a storm in many areas, which can blow them away from comfort zone."
"The transformation of Europe from being the birthplace of ‘détente,’ where the Conference on Security and Cooperation was held and the Charter of Paris of 1990 was adopted, into an appendage of the Anglo-Saxons for sanctions, which is also forced to make excuses in the face of reproaches from Kiev, is a degradation of historical proportions," he said.
The heads of state and government of the EU on Monday approved the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes such measures as a partial embargo on the import of Russian oil and the removal of Sberbank from the SWIFT international financial messaging system.