Media outlets announced in March that a Turkey-Israel gas pipeline was being planned behind closed doors as one of Europe's alternatives to Russian energy. Europe essentially wants to replace Russia with Israel for natural gas needs.
Despite pressure from the US and European partners, India has refused to abandon its energy partnership with Moscow as oil prices rise. Recently, India was forced to slam Bloomberg for causing tensions amidst India-Russia oil deal.
Saudi Arabia had publicly expressed its dissatisfaction with the Biden Administration's lack of assistance for Saudi defense against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen before. Now, the US Senate has passed the NOPEC Antritrust bill, paving way for Biden to sue OPEC.
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in a recent interview said that Americans are indifferent to the ordinary French people and their predicament and that the US should compensate France for losses if the EU bans Russian gas.
Despite exempting several sectors from sanctions, the US is warning India that increased trade with Moscow will result in grave repercussions. Yet, Indian firms have begun the process to accept China's yuan for their exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree establishing a new payment system for Russian gas by non-friendly countries beginning April 1. Here's Russia’s gas-for-rubles payment schedule explained.
Saddam, Gaddafi, Iran, Venezuela – they all tried but couldn’t do it. But Russia is on a different level altogether.
The beauty of the game-changing, gas-for-rubles, geoeconomic jujitsu applied by Moscow is its stark simplicity.
The Economy Ministry stated that it was determined to pursue measures against the Rosneft-owned refinery in Schwedt actively threatening to seize Gazprom facilities from Russia.
Russia has set a March 31 ultimatum for "hostile" nations to start paying for natural gas imports in rubles. Countries that placed economic sanctions on the Russia and frozen its foreign currency reserves will be affected by the new currency-switch regulation. This is especially concerning for those EU countries that significantly depend on Russian energy imports.
After opposition from Serbia and Hungary Russia has stated that Bulgaria will pay for the gas in rubles whether the west likes it or not.
