US businessman George Soros says Russian President Vladimir Putin’s negotiating position is not as strong as he claims.
In a letter to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Monday, Soros threatened to cut off gas supplies, saying, “It is clear that Putin is blackmailing Europe,” CNBC reported.
“That’s what he did last season. Instead of supplying gas to Europe, he put it in storage. This shortage has driven up prices and saved Putin a lot of money. But the bargaining position is not as strong as it claims.”
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Russia recently cut off natural gas to Finland on the grounds that it did not pay in rubles. The move comes after Helsinki announced its intention to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), despite Putin’s opposition.
Gazprom recently halted gas deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow announced that ‘non-friendly’ countries would have to pay for Russian gas in rubles.
The European Union (EU), which includes 27 countries, gets about 40 percent of its natural gas needs from Russia, making it difficult for it to stop buying overnight.
But according to Soros, the EU is also a very important market for the Kremlin, and Putin needs gas revenues to support his economy.
Noting that Europe needs to take “urgent steps” before using its bargaining power, Soros said Europe should impose a large tax on gas imports.
European countries have been striving for alternatives to Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine. The EU and the US signed an agreement in March to ensure that the region receives at least 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas this year.
