Russia generated 93 billion euros in revenue from fossil fuel exports in the first 100 days of the war against Ukraine on February 24, with most of that amount coming from the EU, according to a report by an independent think tank publicity today and puts France in a particularly difficult position.
The study, by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), based in Finland, is being made public as Kyiv pressures Westerners to suspend all trade with Moscow, to stop feeding the Kremlin war machine.
The European Union has recently decided to impose a progressive embargo – with exceptions – on Russian oil imports. Russian gas, on which it depends crucially, is not currently expected to be the subject of such a measure.
According to CREA data, the EU accounted for 61% of fossil fuel imports, worth about € 57 billion, in the first 100 days of the war (February 24-June 3). The main importers of Russian oil during this period were China (12.6 billion euros), Germany (12.1 billion) and Italy (7.8 billion).
Russia’s revenues come mainly from the sale of crude oil (46 billion), gas pipelines (24 billion), petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.
The manna did not dry up, although Russian exports fell in May and Moscow was forced to sell below market prices. Despite the discounts, Russia has benefited from rising global energy prices.
Although some countries made great efforts to reduce their imports (Poland, Finland, the Baltic states), others instead increased their markets: China, India, the United Arab Emirates and … France, according to CREA .
“While the EU envisages tougher sanctions against Russia, France has increased its imports and become the largest buyer of Russian LNG in the world,” said Laure Milivirta, a CREA analyst.
These were spot purchases (immediately payable on cash delivery) and not under long-term contracts, which means that France knowingly decided to buy more Russian energy despite the invasion of Ukraine, the expert notes.
“France has to put it bluntly: if it really supports Ukraine, it must immediately impose an embargo on Russian fossil fuels and develop clean energy and energy efficiency solutions as soon as possible,” he said.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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