So far, Brussels has not changed its decision to completely eliminate hydrocarbons from Russia, writes Politico.
Europe and Britain are in desperate need of energy from Moscow amid the Iran war crisis, says Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund and Vladimir Putin's special emissary.
“Russia will definitely receive many requests from Europe and Britain and decide whether to honor them or not,” Dmitriev predicted at a meeting of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Russia, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
“Our prediction is very clear: Europe and Britain will be begging to receive Russian energy resources,” he added.
Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said oil prices could rise to $150-$200 a barrel as the Middle East conflict roils global energy markets, warning of an “extremely serious energy crisis” that Europe is ill-prepared to handle.
He also argued that the West “shot itself in the foot” by reducing dependence on Russian energy after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Dmitriev, an increasingly visible Kremlin economic emissary who negotiated with the US to end the war in Ukraine, has stepped up his messaging in recent days, portraying Russia as indispensable to global energy markets as supply tightens and arguing that Western sanctions have had the opposite effect.
His remarks come amid soaring energy prices as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts liquefied natural gas flows and pushes oil prices toward $100 a barrel, fueling fears of a wider economic shock.
To date, Brussels has not changed its decision to completely remove hydrocarbons from Russia.
“There is no going back to dependence on Russian energy,” European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said this week, insisting the European Union should not import “not even a single molecule”.
