"Europe has already understood: Russian gas is a weapon" - analyst on the idea of resuming energy purchases from Russia

Calls by some European politicians to resume the purchase of Russian energy resources are more political than economic. Over the years of the war, the European Union has taken too many steps to abandon its energy dependence on Russia to easily return to the old model of cooperation.

Financial analyst Viktor Halchynskyi expressed this opinion in an interview with UNN, commenting on the statement by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever about the need to normalize relations with Russia and resume the purchase of cheap energy resources.

"This is a political statement, not an economic one"

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stated that the European Union should normalize relations with Russia and resume purchases of cheap Russian energy resources. According to him, some European leaders allegedly privately agree with this position, although they do not say so publicly.

However, according to Viktor Halchynskyi, there is virtually no economic logic in such statements.

Before answering the question of whether it is realistic to return to purchasing Russian energy carriers, it must be said that there is no economics in the Belgian Prime Minister's statements. This is a purely political statement. It is related to the position that Europe needs to negotiate with Putin. And the topic of cheap energy carriers here is only part of this political story.

According to him, the attempt to return to the previous model of cooperation seems extremely difficult.

It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to turn Europe's policy 180 degrees. Even before Russia's full-scale invasion, the European Union began to realize that Russian energy carriers are not just a commodity on the market. They are an instrument of political pressure and, in fact, a weapon in a hybrid war.

Europe has already gone through "gas dependence"

According to the expert, Ukraine faced such dependence on Russian energy resources much earlier.

As early as the mid-2000s, Kyiv felt how Russia was using gas as an instrument of political pressure.

Ukraine has already gone through this. In 2005, we were practically on a gas needle, and the transition from this dependence was very painful. By 2007, it became clear that gas prices and supply conditions were formed not for economic reasons, but for political ones.

According to him, European countries realized this much later - practically on the eve of the full-scale war.

Europe came to this conclusion in 2021-2022, when it began to experience artificial price jumps and supply reductions. It then became obvious that Russia was using energy as a political lever.

Even if supplies are resumed, they will not be reliable.

In addition to the political aspect, there is also the factor of supply security. As long as the war continues, Russian energy infrastructure remains a potential military target.

As long as the war between Ukraine and Russia continues, Russian oil and gas transportation facilities are legitimate military targets. They are regularly attacked, and this directly affects the reliability of energy supplies.

That is why even a hypothetical resumption of supplies will not guarantee stability.

If Europe shows weakness, conditions will be even worse.

According to Halchynskyi, the idea of "returning cheap energy carriers" also ignores an important political factor. Russia traditionally uses Western concessions to strengthen its own demands.

If the European Union shows weakness and agrees to such proposals, the effect will be the opposite. Any resumption of energy supplies will take place under much worse conditions.

The expert reminds that similar experience has already been in the history of Ukraine.

We have already gone through this in 2005-2013. These processes brought us nothing good. And now we are saved by the fact that we were able to get off Russia's energy dependence in time.

According to him, even more expensive energy carriers from other sources are more profitable for Europe in a strategic sense.

Let energy carriers be more expensive, but they will be more reliable. And most importantly, Europe will not be politically dependent on Russia.

Is Belgium's position related to frozen Russian assets?

Separately, the expert drew attention to the fact that a significant part of frozen Russian assets is stored in Belgium. This may also affect the country's position in the discussion on relations with Russia.

Here there can be not only a political, but also an economic factor. For example, earlier it was through Belgium that a loan against frozen Russian assets was blocked.

According to him, Belgium may be interested in a more flexible policy regarding these funds.

There is an option that Belgium would like to use these assets more in its own interests. And this can also affect its political position in relations with Russia.