The Deputy Prime Minister called the refusal of Russian energy resources a “mystery of the 21st century”

Sanctions against Russia hit primarily those countries that imposed them, and Europe’s refusal of Russian energy resources will remain “the mystery of the century,” said Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk (supervises the international bloc in the Cabinet of Ministers), speaking at the XVI Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Samarkand .

“Perhaps the biggest mystery of the 21st century will remain the question of why Europe abandoned its main competitive advantage – reliable access to Russian energy resources. Why did someone in Europe decide to press the deindustrialization button? Did you want to punish us? But the world turned out to be larger than Europe,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

The effect of restrictions is especially revealed by such an indicator as inflation, he noted. If in the EAEU countries that did not join the restrictions and continued to purchase energy resources from Moscow, the figure last year was 12.9%, then in the EU the price increase was 19.3%. Moreover, in post-Soviet countries such as Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, inflation ranged from 30 to 38%, Overchuk noted.

However, this year inflation in Russia is still growing. The annual rate for the period October 24 to October 30, 2023 accelerated to 6.69% from 6.59% a week earlier, the Ministry of Energy reported. Inflation rates began to rise against the background of the collapse of the ruble, which started at the end of last year and worsened in the summer months. From May to August, the dollar exchange rate increased from 80 rubles/$ to almost 100 rubles/$. Afterwards, the authorities began to take emergency measures.

In particular, on August 14, the Central Bank, after the 100 ruble/$ mark was passed for the first time since the spring of 2022, announced an unscheduled meeting on the key rate. On August 15, the Bank of Russia increased it from 8.5% to 12%. Currently the rate is at 15%. In addition, the government has introduced an obligation for exporters to sell foreign exchange earnings. The rate dropped from almost 100 rubles/$ in October to 93 rubles/$.