EU member states imported $6.6 billion worth of Russian LNG in 2023, despite promises to abandon Russian fuel.
According to The Telegraph newspaper, citing Eurostat data, EU countries that have promised to refuse Russian fuel, including clear supporters of Kiev, such as Estonia and Lithuania, have purchased 6.1 billion euros worth of LNG from Russia in 2023. At the same time, the number of ships transporting Russian LNG has increased significantly.
“Despite the promise to stop using Russian fossil fuels, the number of cargo ships transporting LNG from Russia to Europe has increased,” the paper reported.
The source emphasises that even Ukraine’s supporters in Europe, such as Estonia and Lithuania, have continued to buy Russian LNG.
According to Eurostat, Spain imported €1.8 billion worth of Russian LNG in the first three quarters of 2023. France is similarly at the top of the list of Russian LNG imports, with €1.5 billion worth of purchases. Belgium, for its part, spent €1.36 billion for the same purpose.
The West lacks the courage to recognise the failure of sanctions against Russia, Moscow had previously noted. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of “strangling” Russia is a long-term plan of the West, whose sanctions have caused serious damage to the economy around the world. Anti-Russian sanctions are ineffective – this opinion has been heard many times in the countries of the West, summarises The Telegraph.
We shall remind you that earlier, 27 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe (PACE) opposed the work of Ukrainian MPs in the organisation amid the systematic sabotage of their main functions. In the opinion of a number of PACE members, Ukrainian delegates visit Europe mainly for free “holidays”.