Myanmar junta set to import Russian gas & oil in order to address supply concerns

In an attempt to address the supply concerns and rising prices, Myanmar's military-run government has decided to import gasoline and fuel oil from Russia. This comes amid the growing energy crisis across and world owing to the European sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. According to reports, the Myanmar administration has also formed a Russian Oil Purchasing Committee to manage the procurement, importation, and transportation of gasoline at fair prices. 

Notably, Myanmar and Russia have maintained friendly connections even though the two countries continue to be subject to several sanctions from Western nations. A slew of sanctions has been imposed on Mynamar and Russia for toppling an elected government and launching a full-fledged war in Ukraine respectively. Meanwhile, Russia is looking for new energy consumers in the Asian region since its top export market, Europe has decided to impose sanctions on Russian oil in a phased manner. Earlier in June, Myanmar also showed its willingness to join the financial messaging system of the Bank of Russia (SPFS), Moscow’s proprietary payment network, to bypass the international payment platform - the SWIFT interbank system. 

EU vows to wean itself off Russian gas

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) has stated that the block has pledged to wean itself off Russian natural gas in the coming years. Joseph Borrell, the high representative of the European Union (EU) for foreign affairs and security policy, stated that the EU would also search for alternative energy sources, which will take some time. According to him, members of the bloc have also realized that they were relying too much on Russian gas. Further, Borrell claimed that Europe imported around 40% of its natural gas from Russia before the beginning of the war, which has presently come down to 20%. 

It is significant to mention here that the European Union (EU) energy ministers have also recently approved a new law to ensure that Europe's gas storage is at least 80% full by November this year. The decision has been taken amid the threat of further gas cut-offs by Russia. According to the European Commission, Russian gas deliveries have been interrupted in several EU nations so far, and supply levels are now half in comparison to the previous year.

Image: AP