Putin hardly takes statements of the West about applying sanctions against Russia serious, writes Mikhail Wolfzon in German Focus magazine.
“It is true that both Europe and Russia are dependent on Russian oil and gas deliveries, but Russia will be able to endure possible deprivations much better than Europe,” he writes. Some German politicians believe that Russia will deliver its raw material as before “by the whistle of a frightened man, who got lost in the forest.” Wolfzon added that even small suspension of Russian energy carriers deliveries will lead to “economic panic” in Europe.
After the end of the coal era, when the world switched from coal to oil, Germany and majority of other western states (except for the US) replaced one type of dependence by another one. “In other words, one strategic foolishness followed another one,” writes the author. In the mid 1960s the West has become dependent on the Near East, which is absolutely unstable and unpredictable region. The first sign appeared in October 1973, when these states announced boycott to blackmail Europe.
German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt has learned a lesson and offered to diversify the energy suppliers and from 1974 it has increased deliveries from the USSR. “That time the Soviet Union appeared to be a very reliable partner, despite the Cold War. But this is the past and we do know what is going to happen in the future. “ Therefore, there are no guarantees of further deliveries of Russian gas.
