France boosts consumption of Russian gas, payments to Kremlin surge – Politico
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France pays for Russian gas more and more, while French President Emmanuel Macron declares himself one of Ukraine’s staunchest defenders, Politico wrote on April 11.
According to data analyzed by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for Politico, anount of Russian liquefied natural gas supplies to France increased more than to any other EU country in the first three months of this year compared to last one.
In total, since the beginning of the year, Paris paid the Kremlin more than $644 million for gas supplies, according to the data.
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“France can not on the one hand, say that we should be tough with Russia, and on the other hand, pay a lot of money to them,” said a diplomat from an EU country, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Newspaper writes that Paris growing gas trade with Russia comes amid Macron’s desire to take a tougher stance in support of Kyiv.
Last month, French leader refused to rule out sending troops to Ukraine and urged allies not to be “cowards” in defending Kyiv, a sharp turn from his previous calls not to “humiliate” Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
France insists that its gas purchases are necessary to ensure supplies to homes across Europe and that it has a long-term agreement with Russia that is legally difficult to break.
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However, critics say Paris could have done more to reduce purchases from the bloc, arguing that its inaction is partly due to resistance from the national energy company TotalEnergies.
“This is not an easy topic,” said a spokesman of French energy ministry.
According to him, if they continue to pay for gas that they do not import, “it will make no sense.”
Macron’s statements on sending troops to Ukraine
After a conference in support of Ukraine held in Paris on Feb. 26, Macron said that Ukraine’s Western allies would form a coalition to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with long-range weapons, and that sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future should not be ruled out.
In response to Macron’s statements, a number of NATO countries publicly rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine. Among them are Poland, the United States, Germany, Chechia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas did not reject the possibility of sending troops, but clarified that it would be only a training missions. General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of the General Staff of the Dutch Army, said that “all options should be left open.”
Read also:
AFP news agency quoted a source saying that European NATO member states had been studying the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine for weeks.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal explained that French troops could participate in the war on the side of Ukraine to protect certain borders, take part in exercises or conduct air defense operations on Feb. 29. He ruled out the participation of French soldiers in battles “directly on the front line.”
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