According to a summary published by TASS, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a cabinet meeting on Oct. 5: “You see what’s going on in Europe, the hysteria and that mess on the markets. Why? Simply because nobody takes it seriously. Some speculate on the issue of climate change, while someone else underestimates something, and yet another one starts cutting back investments in the extractive industries.” TASS said Putin called for the transition to de-carbonization of the economy to be smooth, and further quoted him saying: “We, our country, have all the capabilities of avoiding such mistakes. We are witnessing the result of some unbalanced decisions, unbalanced development and dramatic ups and downs. The European energy market clearly demonstrates this.”
In a meeting with Russian energy officials, Putin expressed his major criticism of the European planners who were retreating from long-term contracts to “gas-exchange trading,” which rises and falls with financial speculation — no doubt with the thought of eventually eliminating their long-term dependence on Russian gas and oil. “It turned out – and today this is absolutely obvious – that this policy is erroneous,” Putin said. He reiterated that Russia remained a reliable source of energy both to Europe and to Asia. And in spite of all the hype in the Western media, Russia has increased its transit of energy through Ukraine by 8%.
