Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 04 2023

FSUOGM POLICY FSUOGM

Qatar backpedals on "forgive and forget"

remarks about Russian invasion

QATAR QATAR appeared to backpedal on controversial another country; we don’t accept threatening by
remarks made by its energy minister last week, force or the use of force; we don’t accept civil-
Qatar’s energy minister that Europe would “forgive and forget” Moscow ians to be hurt. And we have been demonstrat-
has said that the EU for its invasion of Ukraine and resume gas sup- ing this throughout our votes within the United
would forgive and plies from Russia. Nations,” she said.
forgive and resume “We’re all blessed to have to be able to forget “Our message to the Russians, to the Ukrain-
Russian gas supply. and to forgive. And I think things get mended ians has been always … these kind of differences
with time … they learn from that situation and and disagreements shouldn’t be resolved in a
probably have a much bigger diversity [of energy battlefield, they should be resolved through dia-
intake],” Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, who serves as logue,” he said.
Qatar’s energy minister and the head of its state Prior to the war Russia accounted for around
gas company, said during an energy forum in 45% of Europe’s gas supply. But this figure has
Abu Dhabi on January 15. since fallen to under 7%, largely as a result of
Russia continues to launch missile strikes Gazprom cutting deliveries to customers that
on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine including refused to pay in rubles, and the supplies ceas-
energy facilities, resulting in civilian deaths and ing via the Nord Stream 2 and Yamal-Europe
rolling blackouts across much of the country. pipelines.
Asked if al-Kaabi’s statement reflected Qatar’s One of the alternative suppliers that the EU
official position, Foreign Minister Mohammed has engaged with to replace these lost volumes
bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on January 17 is Qatar, which has been diverting cargoes to
said it did not. Europe that would have otherwise gone to the
“Well, it’s not actually. First of all, politically Asian market, and is set to ramp up its LNG pro-
speaking, when we are talking about the situa- duction capacity to 126mn tonnes per year by
tion and the war, Qatar has a very clear political the late 2020s, from 77mn tpy currently, through
stance on this: we don’t accept the invasion of two expansion phases at the giant North field. ™

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