Full Russian energy embargo could stop war, says ex-Putin aide
A full embargo on Russian energy exports by western countries could effectively end the invasion of Ukraine immediately, according to a former Vladimir Putin aide.
Dr Andrei Illarionov said Putin “did not take seriously” the threats from the UK, EU and US to ban Russian oil and gas.
European countries have vowed to end their reliance on Russian oil and gas over the next decade in retaliation for the war in Ukraine, but are still importing large amounts.
The EU imports 40 per cent of its gas and 27 per cent of its oil from Russia, leading German chancellor Olaf Scholz and other European leaders to say that an immediate energy embargo would lead to disaster for their respective countries.
Boris Johnson has announced a UK ban on Russian oil and coal imports from the end of this year, while vowing to do similarly for gas as soon as possible.
Illarionov told the BBC that if the West “would try to implement a real embargo on oil and gas exports from Russia … I would bet that probably within a month or two, Russian military operations in Ukraine, probably will be ceased, will be stopped”.
“It’s one of the very effective instruments still in the possession of the western countries,” he said.
Illarionov added: “His territorial ambitions, his imperial ambitions, are much more important than anything else, including the livelihood of the Russian population and of the financial situation in the country … even the financial state of the his government,.”