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Anders Åslund Profile picture
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6 Oct, 5 tweets, 1 min read
Putin today: "gas reserves in many European countries’ underground storage facilities dwindled as a result of the harsh winter in early 2021."
Because much belongs to Gazprom & are filled to only 10-15%.
Gazprom should not be allowed to own EU storage.
en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…
Putin: "the practices of our European partners [are to blame]. These practices have reaffirmed that, properly speaking, they have made mistakes. We were talking with the former European Commission"
How can the EU be blamed for Russian extortion?!
Putin's forecast: "the gas price has broken all historical records. Today it is approaching $2,000 per thousand cubic metres of gas, which is over ten times last year’s average price."
And finally, Putin the liar: "I would like to underscore that Russia has always been a reliable supplier of [natural] gas to its consumers all over the world, both in Asia and Europe. Russia always fulfils all its obligations in full – all its obligations."
This reminds me of Alexei Miller in June 2008, when he predicted an oil price of $250/barrel, but Putin's forecast is more realistic.

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More from @anders_aslund

Anders Åslund Profile picture
29 Sep
Revisiting the Joint Statement of the United States and Germany on Support for Ukraine, European Energy Security, and our Climate Goals: "We recommit ourselves today to push back against Russian aggression and malign activities in Ukraine and beyond."
state.gov/joint-statemen…
2. The US & "Germany are united in their determination to hold Russia to account for its aggression and malign activities by imposing costs via sanctions ... to respond together to Russian aggression and malign activities, including Russian efforts to use energy as a weapon."
3. "Should Russia attempt to use energy as a weapon...Germany will take action at the national level and press for effective measures at the European level, including sanctions, to limit Russian export capabilities to Europe in the energy sector, including gas..."
Read 4 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
4 Sep
Excellent article by David Kramer: "U.S. policymakers have consistently failed to see Putin as a true threat who will only stop when faced with serious pushback."
politico.com/news/magazine/…
"“playing nice” with Putin plays right into his playbook. While Biden may seek “predictability and stability” in the U.S.-Russia relationship, Putin’s end goal is precisely to stir up as much instability as possible."
David Kramer: "Every time the West responds weakly or not at all, he pushes even further with his destabilization efforts."
Conclusion: "Time to take the gloves off and go after the assets of Putin and his inner circle. Time to back up our warnings with actions."
Read 4 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
1 Sep
The Joint Statement on the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership adopted today looks quite impressive.
whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
Most important is security. The headline is: "Standing up to Russian Aggression" "The United States and Ukraine have finalized a Strategic Defense Framework that creates a foundation for the enhancement of U.S.-Ukraine strategic defense and security cooperation"
The US "is announcing a new $60 million security assistance package, including additional Javelin anti-armor systems ... to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression. more than $400 million this year alone."
Read 11 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
20 Aug
The Biden administration has issued more dubious Russia sanctions on Nord Stream 2: 12 ships & 5 entities (?) but not Nord Stream 2 AG so the work can be completed. This appears just a cloud of fog. Why? Is the intention to let Russia complete NS2? Say so!
home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/…
"U.S. slaps sanctions on Nord Stream 2, project's opponents say not enough."
reuters.com/world/us-issue…
In order to confuse us, Treasury has thrown in Navalny sanctions and non-proliferation sanctions in the same statement. It would be better for the cause if the administration explained rather than confused its policy. This in itself requires an explanation.
Read 4 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
20 Aug
The Biden administration's sanctions policy becomes increasingly incomprehensible. Today it imposed a 3rd round of sanctions according to the U.S. Chemical and Biological Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991...
home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…
...but the US sanctioned only 9 low-level FSB officers & 4 domestic Russian entities, hurting nobody. These sanctions were much delayed. They should have gone after secondary trading of Russian sovereign debt & oligarchs, but did not. Why?! Explain!
Alexei Navalny stated yesterday: "the western establishment acts like Pavlov’s dog: you show them a colonel of the intelligence services and they yell, “Sanction him!”; you show them the oligarch paying the colonel, and they yell, “Invite him to Davos!”"
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Read 4 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
15 Aug
Quick thoughts on the Western engagement in Afghanistan:
1. The West had to take out Al-Qaeda, but after having done so it should have left.
2. The massive US financing of Afghanistan was just a big waste & a corruption racket as CIGAR John Sopko has clarified.
3. Multiple US allies sent troops to Afghanistan & the US didn't thank them. Few in the US knows that there were more US allies than US troops in Afghanistan, so that gave little return.
4. For the future, the massive apparently corrupt loose-spending Pentagon operations that paid off the warlords must be stopped. You don't fight for democracy with warlords.
Read 5 tweets

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