Ditching Russian gas no way to reach climate goals : Putin

Dhaka September 06 2022 :

Inside Russia : Outside Russia : News digest by the Embassy of Russian Federation in Bangladesh on September 06 2022.

INSIDE RUSSIA

Ditching Russian gas no way to reach climate goals – Putin

Europe should have been better prepared for its green energy transition, the Russian president says

Europe’s decision to slash natural gas imports while trying to reach climate goals was a mistake, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday during an environmental forum in Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East.

“First, they (EU) jumped ahead, and then, after cutting off Russian gas supplies, returned everything that was reviled,” Putin stated.

He emphasized that all nations are in favor of reducing emissions into the atmosphere, noting however that everything should be done in a timely manner. “And if you jump ahead, get cheap Russian gas, and then cut off the supply of this gas yourself and immediately switch back to everything that was previously condemned, including coal-fired generation, this, of course, is not the best option for solving global problems,” the Russian president said.

Under the REPowerEU plan, published in May, the European Union plans to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027 and boost its renewable energy production. However, skyrocketing gas prices in Europe, which some analysts believe could lead to an energy catastrophe this winter, have forced some states to fire up coal plants and expand nuclear power use.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

Main gas pipeline to EU will be closed until sanctions lifted – Kremlin

Nord Stream 1 operations will be hampered as long as Western restrictions remain in place, Dmitry Peskov says

The technical issues with gas deliveries to Europe via Nord Stream 1 will persist until the West lifts the sanctions it has slapped on Russia over the ongoing Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. In his telling, these restrictions hamper maintenance of the pipeline.

On August 31, Gazprom completely shut down gas deliveries via the pipeline. Although initially Nord Stream 1 was slated to resume gas transit on Friday, Gazprom announced that it would remain closed indefinitely due to technical issues.

“Problems in [gas] deliveries arose due to sanctions that have been imposed on our country and a number of companies by Western countries, including Germany and the UK. There are no other reasons behind supply issues,” Peskov noted.

The Kremlin spokesman also claimed that it is not Gazprom’s fault that “the Europeans absolutely absurdly make a decision to refuse to service their equipment,” which they are contractually obligated to do.

Peskov stressed that all Nord Stream 1 operations hinge on “one piece of equipment that needs serious maintenance.”

On Sunday, his comments were echoed by Alexander Novak, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, who blamed the European Union for the problems that have prevented the resumption of gas supplies via the pipeline.

“The entire problem lies precisely on [the EU’s] side, because all the conditions of the repair contract have been completely violated, along with the terms of shipping of the equipment,” he said.

On Friday, Gazprom canceled the restart of Nord Stream 1 citing an oil leak in the turbine, which was detected during a joint inspection with manufacturer Siemens Energy at the Portovaya compressor station near St. Petersburg. At the same time, the malfunction could be remedied only in Canada, which has imposed sanctions against Moscow.

Despite the maintenance issues, Europe has accused Russia of weaponizing energy supplies, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen describing Moscow as “not a reliable partner” in terms of gas supplies.

Huge global storm is starting, Moscow warns

“Absurd” decisions by the US and the EU are to blame, the Kremlin press secretary says

The world is about to experience major turbulence as a result of illogical moves by Western nations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

“Most likely, a huge global storm is starting,” Peskov warned in an interview with Tass on Monday. 

“In many ways, there are objective reasons for that, but there are also subjective reasons for this beginning storm, which are linked to absolutely illogical and often absurd decisions and actions of the authorities in the US, Europe, the EU and individual European countries,” he said.

The sanctions imposed by the US, the EU and some other nations on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine have backfired causing a spike in energy prices and record inflation across the West.

In this situation, Russia “still manages to maintain macroeconomic stability. Very intense, thoughtful and consistent work is being carried out in order to achieve that,” Peskov noted.

“As restrictions are being artificially introduced in the West, [Russia’s] trade and economic relations are understandably starting to focus more on the East,” he added.

However, the Kremlin press secretary, who was speaking at the launch of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, insisted that “it was completely unfair to say that we have turned to the East just now… the Asia-Pacific region has always been a very important component for trade and economic relations, and energy dialogue, and other areas.”

Novatek ready to construct LNG receiving facilities at Kamchatka

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY. Sept 5 (Interfax) – Novatek is ready to construct a liquefied natural gas receiving infrastructure at Kamchatka, with its subsequent buyout and transfer to a single gasification operator, Kamchatka Territory Governor Vladimir Solodov said during a meeting on the region’s socio-economic development chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Solodov noted that “degasification” is actually occurring because of the decline in gas production in the region.

Meantime, a floating regasification terminal could be established as part of an LNG transshipment hub that is being built off the coast of Kamchatka. Novatek is assisting the region with developing the project, and it is ready to construct an offshore infrastructure for receiving LNG while determining the procedure for its buyout and transfer to a single gasification operator, Solodov noted.

Gazprom’s production not falling, but rising, Putin says

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, September 5. /TASS/. Gazprom’s production is not falling, but it is even rising, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

“Gazprom’s production is not falling, or you will scare everyone now, but [it is] only rising,” he said at a meeting devoted to Kamchatka’s social and economic development after Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that as a program for Kamchatka’s gasification and field development was adopted 15 years ago Novatek started production, but the resource base was not confirmed, which caused a decline in production over the past years. The replacement of gas with fuel oil is out of the question in a region with high tourist potential, he added.

“In specific regions there are specific issues, such as the one we are discussing now. But it is still necessary to sort things out between the participants of economic activities. The government has to take respective decisions that would meet the interests of the region, the country overall. Of course, with the interests of economic entities considered, the decisions taken should be based on the interests of the state,” Putin said when commenting on Novak’s proposals on the creation of energy infrastructure.

OUTSIDE RUSSIA

Two Russian embassy workers killed in ‘suicide bombing’

Two Russian embassy workers were among many people killed on Monday in an explosion outside the country’s diplomatic mission in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said.

A suicide bomber detonated his vest around the corner from the main gate of the Russian embassy, apparently targeting locals queuing for visas, according to local media.

The death toll has reached 25, with many more injured, according to Al Jazeera.

The blast occurred when an embassy employee went outside to people waiting in line, a source told RIA-Novosti news agency.

Reuters earlier reported that compound guards were able to spot the suicide bomber and fired shots at him.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said that, according to preliminary data, the slain embassy workers were an assistant secretary and a security guard.

Speaking after the incident, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said security has been tightened at the mission in Kabul, with additional Afghan intelligence and counterintelligence forces deployed.

““Let’s hope that those who perpetrated that attack, those who executed this attack will be held responsible in the nearest future,” Lavrov added.

Russia is among the few nations to have maintained an embassy in Kabul since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan a year ago.

Despite not officially recognizing the Taliban government, Moscow has been in talks with the group on a deal to supply gasoline and other commodities to the country, which has been slapped with harsh international sanctions.

Daesh Reportedly Claims Responsibility for Terror Attack Outside Russian Embassy in Kabul

The Afghan foreign ministry has promised that all necessary measures will be taken to investigate the deadly terror attack outside the Russian Embassy in Kabul on Monday.

Daesh* has reportedly claimed responsibility for Monday’s terror attack outside the Russian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

An explosion occurred outside the Russian Embassy on Monday morning, killing two employees of the diplomatic mission. The blast took place in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the embassy’s consular department.

According to the Russian foreign ministry, there are also victims among Afghan citizens. A source in a Kabul hospital told Sputnik that at least 10 people were killed and eight more were hospitalized as a result of the attack.

Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov announced earlier in the day that a set of measures had been taken following the attack to boost security around the embassy. The minister expressed hope that the perpetrators of the attack would be found and held accountable as soon as possible.

Speaking with Lavrov on Monday, Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi expressed his condolences in connection with the terror attack, and assured that the Afghan security forces would pay special attention to the security of the Russian embassy.

Muttaqi also stressed that all necessary measures would be taken to investigate the attack. The two ministers agreed that the countries would “strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fight against the international terrorism.”

For his part, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi, appointed by the Taliban**, expressed hopes that the terrorist attack would not affect Kabul-Moscow relations.

*Daesh, also known as ISIS/IS/Islamic State, is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia.

**The Taliban is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.

IAEA mission falls short of Zaporozhye Region’s expectations — local official

MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/. The IAEA mission’s visit to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant has fallen short of the local people’s expectations it would end artillery bombardments, the chief of the region’s miliary-civilian administration, Yevgeny Balitsky, said on Monday.

“We expected that the IAEA’s influence would be enough to stop the shellings. This is the main thing we wanted to show: who was shelling us, who is the nuclear terrorist today,” he said on the Soloviev Live TV channel.

Balitsky noted that region’s residents and the NPP’s personnel no longer hoped to hear the truth about the situation at the UN Security Council’s meeting on September 6.

“We don’t have such hope, I am speaking now not only on my own behalf, I am speaking on behalf of the people with whom I keep in touch, the power plant’s personnel and the people living in the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye Region,” Balitsky said.

He stressed that the issues that the IAEA commission had outlined on its agenda by no means contributed to stopping bombardments or preventing a potential nuclear accident, while the presence of the IAEA’s permanent representatives at the power plant did not bring about the desired result, since the Ukrainian side “does not care at all about the fact that there are European monitors.”

The IAEA’s mission under the agency’s director-general Rafael Grossi arrived at the Zaporozhye NPP on September 1. According to Grossi himself, the inspectors were able to obtain key data about the situation at the station. Most experts have now left the facility. Two of the mission’s members reportedly remain there.

Last week, Russia requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant on September 6th. It is planned to invite Grossi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the meeting to hear their reports on the current situation.

SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE

Russia’s duty is to help Donbass, says Putin

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, September 5. /TASS/. Russia’s duty is to help people living in Donbass, all attempts to peacefully resolve the situation ended in failure due to Kiev’s position, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday at a meeting with participants of an environmental forum taking place in Kamchatka.

“It is our duty to help these people (those living in Donbass – TASS), and this is exactly what Russia is doing. All our attempts to resolve this problem peacefully have failed because of the Kiev regime’s position,” he said.

Putin noted that he was struck by the courage of Donbass residents defending their republics on the front lines. “I assure you, I know what I’m talking about, because I flew here just after another report from the Defense Ministry leadership [about what’s going on]. They are not professional servicemen, locals make up two units, but they fight better than the professional servicemen, they fight very courageously, bravely and effectively,” the president said.

But in addition to the courageous and strong people, there are many professionals in the republics, the president added. “Kind, professional, and attuned to positive work in their fields: in the arts, in education, and in environmental protection,” he listed.

“And of course, as in other areas, in the restoration of housing, in the revival of industry, agriculture. We must also assist such people. And, of course, we will do so,” Putin concluded.

INSIGHTS

EXCLUSIVE: EU Rejection of Ukraine Talks Was ‘Irritating Surprise’, Karin Kneissl Tells Sputnik

Former foreign minister of Austria Karin Kneissl, who has faced abuse over her ties with Russia and left her home country over death threats, has arrived in Vladivostok to attend the International Tiger Forum. On Monday, she sat for an exclusive interview with Sputnik to talk about Russia, Ukraine, the rise of Asia and her affection for animals.

Sputnik: Why did you choose to attend the Eastern Economic Forum and the Tiger Forum? Why is it important?

Karin Kneissl: The Eastern Economic Forum, as well as the Tiger Forum? Because they were so kind to invite me. Thank you very much. And I said, of course I’d come. But then I stepped back to the Tiger Forum.

I’ve been following the work of Tiger protection from a far distance and I’m somebody who is very fond of animals in general. I’ve got little tigers, cats, and foxes and ponies and chickens. So I’m somebody who lives with animals. And I’m very grateful for the company of my animals, the tigers, the ‘tiger’.

Otherwise, (why did I visit) the Eastern Economic Forum as such? I’ve always wanted to come because in 2017 I published a book called The Changing of the Guard: From the Transatlantic to the Pacific World Order. I have always said, “the music is playing in the East.” Europe can not continue to project the power it once had. I mean: this power projection finished in my eyes already with World War One, and the European Century was the long 19th century, as philosopher Eric Hobsbawm called it, from the French Revolution in 1789 till World War One. Then started the American century, especially after 1945, the Transatlantic century, which has now given space to the Asian century.

By the way, whether we’ll really call it the Asian century remains to be seen. But what is definitely happening is a tectonic shift of commercial ties and of politics. It’s not yet that political. It’s more economic and commercial, but to what extent; (there’s) an Asian vision of globalization, President Xi Jinping has been claiming in his speeches ever since 2017, at least, if I correctly remember. So something is happening.

Sputnik: As we see, Asia also had a different opinion on the events in Ukraine, the ASEAN countries, for example. Some of them have taken a stance of going strongly against the conflict and against Russia’s involvement and imposing sanctions; Singapore was strongly against it. Meanwhile, other countries such as Indonesia were for a peaceful solution, but at the same time, they did not impose economic sanctions. Do you think there is more wisdom in the Asian approach to the problem?

Karin Kneissl: Well, if I take a country like Turkey, which I know quite well, and Turkish diplomacy, [Ankara] is one of the few real practitioners of diplomacy, President Erdogan said something very clear and important at the very beginning of the conflict. He said we have to find honorable exits, because situations were never solved by the defeated and the victorious; you know, you have to find some sort of compromise, some sort of clarification. And then you have diplomats who work on that, who try to find compromises.

Well, unfortunately, the European Union position has been formulated as of March. Decisions will be done on the battlefield and not at the negotiating table, which for me was quite a surprise, an irritating one, because the way I perceived the European Union, the way the common foreign and security policy has been formulated, it was always about a priority for diplomacy.

Sputnik: In your opinion, is Europe independent enough in what it’s doing in the diplomatic field, or is it blindly following orders from Washington, from what you see?

Karin Kneissl: I must say when I was still a minister three years ago, I was more irritated by the absence of real political thinking and real dialog and real talking to each other, looking into each other’s eyes than by US dominance. The US might have its role with certain countries because it’s a bigger lender or whatever kind of relations.

But what I consider as the dilemma in the way we formulate our policy is that it’s it’s often done on a purely technocratic level, and there is no real political dimension to it. We we have abandoned conversation. It’s also, of course, difficult to impossible at the figure of 27 (EU members), and even if there were only eight or 12, to sit around the table and really conduct a conversation. So this I see as the primary problem and not so much the US telling everybody what to do. We lost the craft, the basic skills of talking to each other and of formulating a truly political position.

Sputnik: But is there a dictate from Brussels to nation states within the European Union when it comes to foreign policy? Is there a lot of bureaucracy?

Karin Kneissl: Yes. It’s a lot of technocratic lines to take: talking points, you know. I, of course, cherish the fact that (when) you have a meeting with your counterpart, there are certainly proper points that you definitely have to mention, and a position.

But we are reading out to each other talking points instead of having something like trust building. And this is missing, you know, reading out talking points – this is a very technocratic approach. And yes, there’s definitely a big, big role by the European Commission in formulating these talking points. No doubt about that. It’s done on an ambassadorial level, is done on a civil servant level, and many, many working groups, the many council preparatory meetings, and still it’s it’s a matter of human being in the role, trying to defend that position – and also on the domestic front, if I may say, and and this is not done any more.

Sputnik: In solving the problem of the conflict in Ukraine, you’ve mentioned that Europe from the very beginning has taken a stance of forceful solution – a solution on the battlefields. In your opinion, what is the true solution to the Ukrainian problem as opposed to the battlefield? What has to be done, step by step? What can be done to alter the situation?

Karin Kneissl: I must admit that I am very much ignorant about the many, many layers as I just mentioned to colleagues from another channel beforehand. The analogy which I may take is the breaking apart of the Federation of Yugoslavia, the breakdown of of Bosnia, in particular, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ended up as a very bloody ‘brother war’. In the end, it was really a war, as we would say in German, bruderkrieg.

It’s really a conflict within families, within a village, ethnic cleansing and so on. In 2014, actually, I read the book by Bulgakov, the White Guard. I only understood 40% of the book because it’s very complicated. But I was struck by the fact that what Bulgakov wrote – I think he wrote it in 1920, in ’21 he published – how close it was to the events of 2014. And that struck me in the sense that there is an unsolved historic case, this mix of perceptions, of historical obsessions maybe also, and this falls in line with national security policy goals, with NATO expansion, with geography as such, history, of course, human tragedies, human scars and the involvement of many, many others who shouldn’t be there.

Sputnik: It was reported earlier that you had to leave the EU for a safer place because of the threats. You had to leave Austria and then probably France was about the same story. How does it correlate with Europe’s adherence to human rights, the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of expression? Who are these people who are threatening you? And what are the authorities doing?

Karin Kneissl: The authorities aren’t doing anything. No. I asked also for help. Once there was one word in favor of me. There were some people I don’t know who wrote nice emails. That’s it. But it’s all about that, you know, preaching water and drinking wine, as you say. The threats coming from the Internet and social media, I don’t consider them as so important. You know, they are nasty, but nobody who could threaten you with all kinds of stupid things would get up from his sofa and go all the way to really harm you.

What is much more harmful and what has an immediate impact on your daily survival is when you are not allowed to work anymore in your field, and that I realized already two years ago. That’s why I quit in Austria. I had not a single contract I had signed, they were dissolved by political pressure, and I could not continue my work, which I wanted to do as an academic, I could not continue my teaching contracts and I had no income at all because as a former Cabinet member, you don’t have any income.

So in 2019, 2020, I realized it’s a problem and then followed the lockdowns, because in 2020 I still had a few contracts with Germany. The moment I started working for Russian institutions such as MGIMO and started writing for RT, I was the outcast, you know, and I was elected to the board of Rosneft in June 2021. That was two years after I had left government. It was not an immediate follow-up, as some claimed. I served on the board as somebody who knows the market. I was not moved in there as a completely ignorant person and I didn’t step down in spring when all the pressure was there, because it’s not my style to step down. But then all the events became more and more hectic. And that was the time, also in spring this year, that I realized that I was refused a bank account in France, with no reasoning.

My name is apparently on lists, which I don’t know, and this makes your life very difficult. And that’s what I keep saying. Lists have replaced laws, and this is the most important thing. On that I’m writing a book. I gave it a title: Requiem for Europe, because it’s like an excommunication, you know, like in the Medieval ages. One of my favorite emperors was Frederick the Second. He was ruling in the 13th century. He was born in Sicily. He was very much more Italian than he was German. He was more than that – he was Mediterranean. He spoke proper Arabic, and he was definitely a very enlightened emperor. He was also excommunicated like some others; in those days, the excommunication was done by the Catholic Church. Today, the excommunication is done by the so-called society of values.

Sputnik: In many EU countries, including Austria, there are parties with patriotic stance who are not anti-European, but are focused on national interests. Is it possible there will be awakening or a “revolution” and these parties will come to power?

Karin Kneissl: Well, I do hope that Europe will somehow be reinvented, reinvent itself, and Europe will not be gone. Europe disappeared many times throughout history, but it came back and it will come back, although I don’t see revolutions as a solution. I mean, you had a revolution here in this country and you know all that it destroys and how much the impact on a society. I see. Much more of this array confusion, a lot of confusion

And you have very fragmented societies, much more fragmented than there were in the 1930s or twenties when we had the last time a very big economic crisis. Today’s societies are fragmented on many levels family, social level, although the composition of the society in terms of a religion, in terms of ethnic origin. So this is this contributes to to a situation where, well, we see a lot of confusion, but I don’t see something that you can probably call a revolution.

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