The material in this article comes from the Internet, if it is inconsistent with the actual situation or there is infringement, please contact to delete.
At the Queen of England's funeral, absent countries such as Russia, Belarus, Syria, Myanmar, Venezuela and Afghanistan undoubtedly showed the circle of friends of the Western world. Countries outside the six can be members of non-Western circles, but their absence does mean that they do not fit into this circle.
Among them, Russia and Belarus are in a passive position because of the impact of the conflict in Ukraine. Syria, on the other hand, is mired in war and has become a focus of contention in the West's attention. Myanmar suffers from democratic demands and Western sanctions. Afghanistan, despite the withdrawal of U.S. troops, is still on the terrorism list and cannot be invited.
Venezuela stands out in this list. Despite the tense relationship between the United States and Switzerland, the Biden administration has begun to relax its attitude towards Venezuela as crude oil prices climb, and even launched a high-level delegation meeting at the beginning of the year. Venezuela is an important member of OPEC and has the world's largest crude oil reserves, but production is key.
Due to aging equipment and high extraction costs, Venezuela's crude oil exports lag far behind Middle Eastern oil giant Saudi Arabia. However, in the context of soaring oil prices, Venezuela's crude oil business has gradually restarted, and production has reached about 700,000 barrels per day, double that of last year. More importantly, Venezuela once produced 3 million barrels per day, and as long as prices remain high and equipment is maintained, its production capacity can reach at least 2 million barrels per day!
This is undoubtedly a very tempting option for the Western world, which is mired in the oil crisis. However, sanctions are easy and lifting them is difficult. It is far from easy for the United States to use Venezuela to fill Russia's oil gap.
The situation in Saudi Arabia is more concerning. They were invited to the queen's funeral, and Crown Prince Salman personally attended, but chose to be absent. According to reports, this is because the British side used the Khashoggi case to put pressure on Saudi Arabia, causing Salman to return home angrily. His trip was really embarrassing. When the queen died, Saudi Arabia also actively expressed condolences, praising her as a "role model of leadership", but was regarded as a murderer and excluded from the funeral. This loss can be imagined.
At a time of energy scarcity, the energy bills of British households have nearly tripled. As energy prices and the cost of living soared, workers across the UK staged rounds of protest strikes, including railway workers, cleaners, bus drivers and lawyers. In protest against the high electricity bills, the British people have even organized a campaign called "Don't Pay", which plans to eliminate automatic bill deduction from October 1 to force energy suppliers to lower prices. The Don't pay campaign has attracted more than 115,000 participants.
This series of events has made Britain, which has offended Salman, stop counting on OPEC to increase production. In fact, internal and external consistency between Western countries will also become a major problem, especially in the context of energy shortages, and the EU and the eurozone will face a more severe test as winter approaches.
Overall, the list of absent countries from this Queen's funeral reveals the complexity of world politics and subtle changes in relations between nations. Under the energy crisis, the positions and strategies of various countries will undergo new adjustments, which may be a new historical turning point. We look forward to seeing how countries can maintain stability and find new opportunities for cooperation during this turbulent time.
The above content and materials are derived from the Internet, and the author of this article does not intend to target or allude to any real country, political system, organization, race, individual. The above does not mean that the author of this article endorses the laws, rules, opinions, behaviors in the article and is responsible for the authenticity of the relevant information. The author of this article is not responsible for any problems arising above or related to the above and does not assume any direct or indirect legal liability. Due to the rules of the platform, you will only be recognized as a fan if you have more interaction with me. If you like my article, you can click "Follow", and you can receive the article push as soon as you become an iron fan. This article is only published in today's headlines, please do not move.