Putin's Announcement on Increased Gas Supplies to EU Gesture of Cooperation, Professor Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that energy giant Gazprom could increase gas supplies to Europe is a gesture to promote international energy cooperation for the benefit of all, Paul Adam Isbell, a professor of political economy of climate change at Spain's IE University, told Sputnik on 9 October.

Earlier in the week, Putin held a meeting about the situation on the European energy market. The Russian president noted that Gazprom had always fulfilled its contractual obligations and assured the nation's international partners that it will continue to do so, while also considering the option of increasing supplies.

"Putin's announcement should be seen as an authentic gesture of international energy cooperation and should be welcomed by all, regardless of whether one feels that it was self-interested. Cooperative gestures like this are nearly always self-interested but they also serve the interests of many others", Isbell said.

The expert further compared Russia and Saudi Arabia, who has been increasing its oil production to curb global oil prices and ease economic pressure on its partners in the West.

"Like Saudi Arabia, Russia is too often accused of being too ready to use energy as a weapon. A clear-headed review, however, reveals that in both cases, fossil fuels are seen more as long-term business propositions than as potential geopolitical weapons – which tend not to work or to even backfire", Isbell noted.

Europe needs to perceive Russia as a necessary partner given the decarbonisation trends and pressing climate change issues, the expert added. Accordingly, Europe should strike an agreement with all carbon fuel producers, including Russia, to mitigate environmental risks, Isbell concluded.

On 8 October, chief economist Lukas Kovanda of the Czech financial institution, Trinity Bank, also said that Putin's statement might have a stabilising impact on the energy market and prevent gas prices from further growth.