On April 2, Lithuania's Ministry of Energy issued a statement saying it would no longer import Russian gas. In this regard, Lithuania became the first country in the European Union to be independent of Russia's energy supply.
The President of Lithuania even wrote: "Many years ago, my country made the decision that today allows us to effortlessly sever energy ties with the 'aggressors'. If we can do it, so can the rest of Europe. ”
In fact, this is not the first time Lithuania has been a demon. As early as last November, Lithuania had taken measures that were detrimental to the mainland's "one-China" principle, and the mainland strongly condemned it for this reason.
Today, in such a grim situation between Russia and Europe, a small country jumping out and striking at Russia is by no means Lithuania's own intention, but nothing more than the attitude of the European and American powers in order to test Russia's attitude towards energy problems.
Russia may have gained insight into the intentions of European and American countries and immediately gave its own countermeasures.
On April 3, Russian presidential press secretary Peskov said in an interview that due to western sanctions against Russia, the credibility of the euro and the dollar has decreased, and Russia has decided to expand the use of the "ruble settlement order" from natural gas at this stage to other export goods.
This is also another strong counterattack by Russia against European energy after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the "ruble settlement order" on March 31.
In this regard, the Russian side's statement is even more ironic, not to embarrass European partners, but to hedge risks and protect trade.
If this initiative is really implemented, the blow to European countries will be enormous. Because the scope of its previous ruble settlement order was only in the field of natural gas, European countries may still have illusions and want to test with Russia, but if the "ruble settlement order" is really extended to other fields, crude oil alone is enough to make Europe uncomfortable.
Because not only Russian natural gas accounts for 40% of European countries' natural gas imports, Russian crude oil also accounts for 30% of European imports! It is conceivable that if the "ruble settlement order" is fully implemented, it will add another blow to Europe's already collapsing energy market. If the impact of other goods is added, the blow to the overall economic development of European countries will also be devastating.
So how long can European countries last? The answer is one day, no more.
As recently as the morning of April 4, Latvian Gas Company had pleaded guilty, saying that "the procedure of settling in rubles does not violate the sanctions regime and is feasible." ”
The company's chairman of the board also said that so far, the company has stored enough natural gas to cope with consumers, but it is difficult to maintain supply to the three Baltic countries. So, the company has already signed a long-term gas supply contract with Russia until 2030.
That's right, it's magical! Latvia, which on April 1 also clamored not to import Russian gas, has pleaded guilty. So without Latvia's natural gas reserves, where does Lithuania, which is also a baltic country, go?
It can be said that Russia's move has made it difficult for European countries to maintain their previous calm.
In fact, both Latvia and Lithuania are insignificant and small roles. It is only a pawn of the European and American powers and Russia in this energy game, can the attitude of the chess pieces reflect the attitude of the chess players? We don't know yet.
In any case, Russia has achieved a temporary victory in this confrontation. If Europe and the United States cannot come up with corresponding countermeasures, the value of the ruble will also rise sharply, and it will be wait and see whether the international trade settlement system will face restructuring!