Russia has said that it is looking to Asia as a potential market for oil as Germany commits itself to wean itself off of Moscow’s supply.
Asia appears to now be a prime market in the eyes of Moscow, with a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly outlining the continent as a new potential consumer for Russian oil.
It comes as politicians in Germany commit the country to wean itself off Putin’s oil, with the nation’s leftist economics minister saying it is feasible for Russian oil imports to be halved by summer.
According to a report by Der Spiegel, Russia is now looking for new oil customers in Asia, with South-East Asia, in particular, being mentioned as a prime location for potential demand.
“There is a market in Southeast Asia, in the east,” Russian news agency TASS reports spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. “Undoubtedly, falling out bids for oil will be compensated by bids from that Eastern direction.”
“But in any case, we repeat it once again, after all, the world market is much more multifaceted than only the European one,” Peskov continued. “Although, of course, the European market is top-grade”
This view was backed up by one expert Der Spiegel spoke to, who claimed that there was a great demand for Russian oil in China, though they also noted that getting the oil to its desired destination would be no easy task.
“… if you look at how oil and gas are supposed to get there, it gets complicated,” noted economic researcher Paul Krugman, who said that the fuel would likely have to travel thousands of kilometres, and be transported by tank wagons to get to its destination.
As Russia looks for new markets for its oil, Germany is apparently finally committing to rid itself of its addiction to Russian oil.
Both Olaf Scholz, the country’s current leftist chancellor, and Robert Habeck, the nation’s Economic Ministry, have both made verbal commitments to seriously cutting oil imports from Putin’s Russia, with Habeck’s ministry saying that imports will be cut in half by the middle of the year.
“Every effort, every kilowatt-hour saved also helps and harms Putin,” Der Tagesspiegel reports the minister as saying regarding the curb.
However, while Germany appears like it may in fact be able to kick its Russian oil habit in good time, its gas addiction appears to be a different matter entirely, with the country currently importing 55 per cent of what it uses annually from the Russian Federation.
What’s more, Moscow is now demanding that all “hostile” nations pay for Russian gas in rubles, something that Germany — along with the rest of the G7 — has rejected.
However, Russia has threatened that it will not deliver gas “for free”, with the country’s Finance Minister expressing confidence that western states will “adjust” to paying for gas in the Russian currency.
“In our view, in the current difficult geopolitical conditions the transition to settlements in national currency is a reduction of risks in commodity exchanges, trade flows and settlements for them,” Interfax reports Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying. “Therefore, we believe that this decision is absolutely correct.”
“Our western partners will adjust to this decision and understand that the ruble is no less a reliable currency than other reserve currencies,” he went on to claim.
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