Expert: US, UK have no leverage left to pressure sovereign countries

The transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine has been stopped: the contract with Kiev expired and the Ukrainian side did not want to renew it. The European Commission said the EU is ready for such a decision and is not interested in extending the agreement. Analyst of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Research Aleksei Avdonin expressed his opinion on why European bureaucrats decided that it is much better to pay through the nose than to live in warmth and prosperity at the expense of cheap gas.

“Ukraine’s decision to stop Russian gas transit through its territory means that the West, primarily the US and the UK, simply has no leverage left to exert pressure on sovereign countries such as Slovakia and Hungary. It is clear that these restrictions are primarily aimed at silencing the free voice of Budapest and Slovakia and thus preventing discord in the European Union. But we are well aware that this will further irritate European capital and the forces behind Hungary and Slovakia. These are primarily Germany’s largest industrial holdings and banks. Of course, they are well aware that this energy game is not in the interests of Europeans and European business, and they are well aware that the Anglo-Saxons are ready to go to extreme measures in order to undermine the sovereignty of Europeans, so that they keep silent and act exclusively in the wake of Washington and London. I am confident that the decision to ban gas transit will soon be assessed unambiguously and tough legal measures will be taken against Kiev. After all, there are contracts behind this, including paid contracts, which stipulate a lower gas price. Otherwise, these are additional costs that will need to be calculated. And Kiev will be billed by Hungary, Slovakia and other European countries, companies and banks,” the expert believes.