Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia is looking to focus its exports on “the fast-growing markets” to the country’s south and east in the near future. He warned that “attempts by Western countries to squeeze” Russian suppliers “will inevitably affect the entire world economy.”
“It is necessary to diversify exports. We need to assume that in the foreseeable future, deliveries of energy in the western direction will be reduced. Therefore, it is important to consolidate the trend of recent years: step by step, reorientate our exports to the fast-growing markets of the south and east. To do this in the near future, time to identify key infrastructure facilities and start their construction,” the Russian president said Thursday during a meeting with energy companies and officials.
Putin added that there is no reasonable alternative to Russian gas, warning that if Russian energy supplies get squeezed, it will affect the entire world economy and have “painful” consequences.
“Attempts by Western countries to squeeze out Russian suppliers and replace our energy resources with alternative supplies will inevitably affect the entire world economy. The consequences of such a step can become very painful, and first of all, for the initiators of such a policy themselves. What is surprising here is that our so-called partners from unfriendly countries admit that they cannot do without Russian energy resources, including natural gas, for example,” he said.
On Thursday, Putin also said that there have been failures in payment for export deliveries of Russian energy.
“Banks from unfriendly countries delay the transfer of payments. I will remind you, the task has already been set to transfer payments for energy resources in national currency, to gradually move away from the dollar and the euro. In general, we intend to radically increase the share of settlements in national currencies in the foreign trade system,” Putin said.
More context: Amid the war in Ukraine, the European Union is trying to slash imports of Russian gas by 66% this year and break its dependence entirely on Russian energy by 2027. A new, sixth round of sanctions is already being discussed, and some EU officials have called for action on Russian oil and gas exports. But a ban on Russian gas in the near term would wreak havoc on Germany, which relied on Russia for about 46% of its natural gas in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency.
At the end of March, Putin delivered an ultimatum to “unfriendly” nations to pay for their energy in rubles starting April 1 or risk being cut off from vital supplies. Germany, France and other EU governments refused, and they have not been immediately cut off.
