The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell rejected claims that the Russian economy had not yet been badly affected by Western sanctions. In his interview with DW, he declared that more important than reducing the consumption of Russian gas are efforts aimed at “severing the ties between the Russian economy and the rest of the world”:
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“The Russian war machine needs not only money, but also technology,” the top diplomat said, citing the example of Russian tanks in the Ukraine war that use Western components. “Look at the hull of a wrecked Russian tank and you will see how many electronic components of Western companies are there. The Russians will no longer have access to them,” Borel said.
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The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that the countries of…
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Borel expects Russia’s GDP to shrink by 10 percent this year, which he says will lead to “the biggest recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union.” Very soon, Russian President Putin will have to choose between weapons and food for the people, Borel emphasizes.
“If at the beginning of the war the share of Russian energy carriers in the EU was 40 percent, now it has dropped to 20 percent,” he further commented and added that it is impossible “to demand from the European economy to stop buying gas overnight.”
Asked why Brussels did not impose sanctions on Russian gas imports to reduce Russia’s revenue going to the war in Ukraine, Borrell said the proposal had been seriously considered but rejected.
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