Putin Offers To Boost Natural Gas Supply To Europe—Here’s Why He’s Unlikely To Be Taken Seriously
ForbesDec 23, 2022
The Facts
Russian Pres. Putin on Wednesday offered to restart gas deliveries to Europe via the undamaged parts of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Speaking at the 5th Russian Energy Week International Forum in Moscow, he said it was now up to the EU to decide whether it wanted supplies to resume. The Russian president called the explosions that led to gas leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines an "act of international terrorism."
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
While energy prices are skyrocketing in Europe, Putin's hypocritical offer is the latest proof of how cynically Moscow weaponizes gas exports. But Putin has massively miscalculated, as Moscow is virtually forcing Europe to pursue energy independence, and Russia is already losing market shares to Algeria, Qatar, and Azerbaijan.
Pro-Russia narrative
The fact that Putin's offer to resume gas deliveries is falling on deaf ears shows that Brussels and Berlin are no longer pursuing a rational policy. For EU citizens, this is terrible news ahead of winter, and while the EU is serving US interests, things don't look good for Europe in the long run.
