The current gas crisis shows once again that we underestimated the impact of the sanctions on ourselves. Because we could have read that Russian President Vladimir Putin knows exactly what he is doing, at the latest from his threat that the Western countries “would only harm themselves”. Is he right?
One thing is certain: Putin’s consistent actions have caught our politicians by surprise. While the European community was still comfortably discussing the pros and cons of a potential gas embargo in Brussels, the Russian autocrat certainly had already devised a plan to cut off the gas supplies we needed. How could you not see this coming?
Anyone who believes that gas is yet to come believes in the Christ Child
And so we are now in the situation we are in. As the lines of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline are “maintained” for ten days and no one knows if Putin will turn them back on, we become increasingly uncertain. Of course, you must also remain positive in war, but you must not have too much hope in the Russian president. Anyone who believes that gas will be completely returned to Western Europe after work on the Nord Stream probably also believes in the Christ Child. We must not make the same mistake again and trust Putin!
We stumble, Russia laughs
This gas game is, of course, a retaliation for the sanctions imposed. Putin knows how dependent the West is on its supplies – and he shamelessly exploits this knowledge! In fact, the Russian economy has come through the sanctions relatively unscathed so far – thanks to the corresponding rise in commodity prices. And for us, the sanctions came back like a boomerang! Has it really paid off?
Sanctions take time
While Putin’s revenge is painful for us, we must not forget that sanctions are a form of political communication. Compared to military intervention, they are the softer way of saying, “We don’t agree with the war!” In addition, sanctions take time to get through to the recipient. Anyone who expects them to achieve their goal and puts pressure on them will be disappointed. This will take a while.
So far we are the big loser
Yet you get the impression that the impact of the sanctions on us has not been sufficiently considered by the politicians of the Union, otherwise there would have been serious efforts to find alternative energy sources sooner. The motto was apparently “first act, then think”. And so one must first draw the conclusion: so far we, Europe, have been the big losers.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
