Government troops did not have time to capture Al-Omar and stopped only ten kilometers from it. Before the war, about a quarter of all Syrian oil was produced here.

Updated at 17:30

Syrian Kurds, backed by the United States, have taken control of the country's largest oil field, Al-Omar, in eastern Syria, Reuters reports. The Syrian army did not have time to establish control over the field and stopped ten kilometers from it. Last week, government troops, with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces, stormed the city of Meyadin, located opposite the oil field.

comments Professor of the Institute of Asian and African countries of Moscow State University Vladimir Isaev:

“There are some very serious fights going on. On the one hand, the Kurds were advancing, on the other, Syrian troops were advancing with the support of the Americans. The Kurds simply came to this field faster, and they have now annexed this field to themselves. But the fact is that further clashes, as the Iraqi experience shows, are still, as they say, ahead, because what is happening now in Iraq around Kirkok, there are already considered two hundred killed, there, too, the Kurds have already entered into serious contact with the official Iraqi army. So, if we do not involve this Kurdish entity, which is operating now and declared itself, in general, also autonomy at one time on the territory of Syria, then we can expect clashes between the Syrian troops and the Syrian Kurds, which would be, frankly , not into the hands of both official Damascus and us, of course, because this is just further inciting war. I think that since the Syrian Kurds are taking part in the negotiations in Astana, which will take place at the end of this month, this issue will probably be raised in order to prevent a direct clash between the Syrian Kurds and official Damascus.

- And this is the Al-Omar deposit, how important is this resource?

- The fact is that the main deposits are located mainly in the Deir ez-Zor region, where approximately 60% of Syrian oil is concentrated, and in the Palmyra region. Now, in fact, there is also a struggle for them, because although the Syrian troops crossed to the eastern bank of the Euphrates, this does not mean that they have seriously advanced. They recaptured a couple of fields and also an oil refinery, which was in the hands of terrorists from the Islamic State (a group banned in Russia). So the main blow of the Syrian army is directed there, in this direction. So far, Syrian troops have avoided clashes with the Kurds in every possible way. Well, the fact that the Kurds entered there, knocked out the Islamists from there, is already good, because the influence or influence, if you like, of the Islamic State is decreasing, this reduces its financial sources. Well, the further division of the Syrian territory into autonomies, if any, is already a matter of the future.

Before the war, Al-Omar produced about a quarter of all Syrian oil. Recently, it has been the main source of income for the militants. Commentary by Major General of the Reserve, Candidate of Political Sciences Sergey Kanchukov:

Sergey Kanchukov Major General of the Reserve, Candidate of Political Sciences“They still have sources of income in the form of oil fields across the territory. It’s just that the sale of oil is now difficult, because before it went mainly through Turkey, but now, although there are some other, perhaps, sources of sale, I think that they are already much limited. Therefore, the oil field itself as a source of financing, I think, is not of such great importance now, which is why the Americans seized it, showing, on the one hand, their importance and that they are fighting. And it would be better if they fought with transactions, with funds that provide funding, that sell ammunition. Because, in fact, the sale of oil is, even if it is illegal, but it can be tracked. These are caravans of oil tankers, these are pipes through which this oil flows. That is, here the struggle, as it were, to stop financing precisely through oil resources affects little effort. I think it's a publicity stunt, nothing more."

Meanwhile, Raqqa had become Dresden in 1945, "razed to the ground by the Anglo-American bombardment." This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov. According to him, as a result of airstrikes in both cases, thousands of civilians were killed.

As the process of peaceful settlement of the situation in Syria progresses, it becomes more and more obvious for its leadership that in a country almost completely destroyed by the war, it is time to start establishing a peaceful life and production. At least in those territories that have already been liberated from terrorists.

For some reason, many observers like to say that, they say, "Syria is not Libya, it does not have large reserves of oil and gas." This is a very common misconception.

4th in reserves in the Middle East

According to energy expert Osama Monahid of the Middle East Carnegie Center, Syria today ranks fourth in terms of reserves among the oil and gas producing countries of the Middle East, especially after Norwegian specialists explored the largest gas fields on its territory.

Prior to the start of the civil war, oil reserves in Syrian fields were estimated at 2.5 billion barrels. At the same time, Syrian oil and gas fields are concentrated mainly in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country - they are connected by pipelines to Damascus, Homs and Aleppo. Before the West began to systematically flood the country with thugs from all over the world, the level of oil production in Syria in 2010 was 386,000 barrels per day.

As the civil war flared up in the country, it systematically fell, amounting to 186,000 barrels in 2012. Today, due to the destruction of infrastructure and the seizure of deposits by IS 1 militants, the Syrian government officially produces only 20,000 barrels per day.

A small Norwegian company even before the war carried out geological exploration in Syrian territorial waters, and found 14 huge oil pools on the shelf. Among them are the four largest deposits in the area from the Lebanese border to the Syrian city of Banias.

Analysts from the US Geological Survey have estimated the undiscovered reserves of the Jabal Nafti offshore field on the border of Syria and Lebanon, in the amount of 3 to 17 billion barrels of "black gold". Its development can "catapult" Syria into the ranks of the most advanced countries, providing oil production at the level of today's Kuwait. According to experts, in peaceful conditions, and even with a stable level of investment in exploration, Damascus could produce 6-7 million barrels of "black gold" per day - only half as much as Saudi Arabia.

Also in the pre-war period in Syria, Norwegian specialists found colossal volumes of gas. According to their estimates, only proven gas reserves in this country amount to 284 billion cubic meters, and oil shale - 50 billion tons. However, in order to extract all these riches from the bowels, Damascus needs to free most of the deposits from the terrorists “attached” to them, and then invest tens of millions of dollars more in production.

How long will it take to recover

According to economic blogger Oleg Makarenko, Syrian industry and production can be restored relatively quickly. Indeed, in Syria, even taking into account the huge military losses and mass emigration of the population, there are tens of thousands of specialists who can quickly recall their professional skills and get down to business.

Factories, especially oil refineries, can be restored quite quickly, since there are still thousands of qualified personnel left in Syria. If there is personnel, then it is possible to restore both production and production chains. Yes, it costs a lot of money - but it is possible, - Makarenko is sure. – Remember how the USSR and Germany were recovering after the Second World War: the work of factories was resumed in a matter of months, although the cities were almost completely destroyed.

In order to begin a full-fledged restoration of the extractive industry, Syria will first have to be freed from terrorists and put under reliable government control. After all, even the most modest "investments of the first stage" in the extraction of "black gold" amount to tens of millions of dollars. No company in the world, including Russia's Gazprom or Rosneft, would spend that kind of money on new wells or rehabilitating old ones if the risk persists that they could again fall into the hands of IS or Jabhat al-Nusra militants. "(organizations are prohibited in the Russian Federation).

Thus, the Syrian army now needs a slow, but systematic advance on a broad front in the direction of Palmyra and a reliable anchorage in the oil fields around it. Only in this case, investors will be able to participate in the development of gas and oil fields there.

Perspective

As for future prospects, their implementation will again require a slow advance towards Deir ez-Zor, where the main proven oil reserves are concentrated. Now they are controlled by ISIS 1, taking advantage of the proximity of the Iraqi border, from where they are constantly replenished with militants and weapons. Therefore, gaining control over the Deir ez-Zor fields is a rather distant prospect.

But the restoration of the two largest oil refineries in Syria, which in recent years has been practically idle due to the seizure of fields by the rebels, can begin in the near future. According to experts, these two enterprises never fell into the hands of militants during the Syrian war, and suffered very little from accidental bombing.

In general, the development of the oil industry will give a very effective impetus to the development of Syria, and it's not just about money. In the course of reconstruction, many workers will be needed, unemployment will disappear, and the population will believe in the prospects of their country.

1 The organization is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Even before the start of the civil war in Syria, the largest investors from China, India and the UK showed interest in local deposits. But today, it seems that not they, but Russia will become the main partner of Damascus. However, the “oil” issue for Syria today is rather not economic, but purely political.

ISIS also hit the Celestial Empire

Every day, news comes from Syria about the military victories of the government army: with the support of Russian aviation, soldiers are pushing out Islamic State militants * from settlements near the Syrian-Iraqi border. On Friday, the city of Abu Kamal fell, which since 2012 has been under the control of the Free Syrian Army, and since July 2014 it has been captured and held by terrorists of the Islamic State.

Abu Kamal is the last of the major cities that remained under the control of the militants, in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zoer. From the very beginning of the war, it played a strategic role, since the largest oil fields in the country are located in this province. On the scale of the Middle East, they were, of course, small - but in the economy of Syria itself, oil exports played a significant role.

By the beginning of the civil war in 2011, natural gas production in Syria was 5.3 billion cubic meters, crude oil - almost 400 thousand barrels per day (0.5% of the global figure). All production was in the hands of the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company, which actually ceased operations after the start of the war.

After all, oil production in the country was first in the hands of the rebels fighting against the government, and then the terrorists fighting both the government and the rebels. Since 2014, it was the Islamic State that controlled virtually all oil and gas production in Syria, and hydrocarbon smuggling has also become the main source of income for the terrorist group.

But before the start of the civil war, many states had their business interests in the oil sector of Syria. In particular, the state oil monopoly Syrian Petroleum Company worked with such transnational monsters as Royal Dutch Shell (Great Britain-Holland), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (India) and China National Petroleum Company (China).

Separate deposits in the Euphrates Valley near the Syrian-Iraqi border were controlled by French Total, Canadian Suncor Enegry, Luxembourg Kylczyk Investments, Egyptian IRP, American Triton, Croatian NA-Industrija nafte and others.

Motley company, don't you think?!

Will the Arab gas pipeline be completed?

Of particular note is the British company Gulfsands Petroleum, a minority stake in which belonged to a multimillionaire Rami Makhloufu, cousin Bashar al-Assad(father of a businessman, Mohamed Maklouf, whose sister was married to a former head of state Hafez al-Assad). By the beginning of the civil war, the Mukhluf family had created a gigantic business empire, the value of whose assets was estimated at $ 5 billion.

Among the international players with interests in Syria, three Russian companies were also named - Tatneft, Uralmash and Soyuzneftegaz.

Soyuzneftegaz associated with the former (from 1993 to 1996) Minister of Energy of Russia Yuri Shafranik, became the first international company that, after the start of the war (in December 2013), signed an agreement on cooperation in the energy sector with official Damascus: it meant geological exploration in Syrian territorial waters worth $ 90 million. Russian sailors guarded the geologists.

Having very modest reserves of hydrocarbons, Syria, however, is of interest due to its unique location for laying promising routes for the transit of energy resources. It is worth recalling that already in 2008, a section of the Arab Gas Pipeline was put into operation on the territory of Syria - it stretches from the southern border with Jordan to the Tishrin and Deir Ali power plants. The laying was carried out by the Russian company Stroytransgaz.

It was planned that the gas pipeline would go further north to ensure the transit of "blue fuel" to Turkey. Stroytransgaz has already received a contract, but the branch was never built due to the start of the civil war. But since then, there has been talk of its possible renewal.

External players do not need a "Syrian" peace

So who will take control of the hydrocarbon fields in Syria after the end of the war? This question was addressed by the Free Press Research Fellow of the Strategic Culture Foundation and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Areshev.

“The issues of the country's economic recovery and the distribution of income from the sale of energy resources, one way or another, should become part of the political settlement process in Syria, which is actively supported by the Russian side,” Areshev said. - In particular, the proposed Congress of National Dialogue is intended to start a discussion of the future state structure of the country.

However, there will be many pitfalls along the way. In particular, the dialogue between official Damascus and the Kurds has not yet led to tangible breakthroughs. And the tasks of external players may differ radically from the goals of establishing long-term peace in the country.

"SP": - Could the oil and gas of Syria - which is now again controlled by Damascus - be the source of a new round of conflict? Indeed, in 2011, the civil war began exactly according to this scenario ...

- First of all, it should be noted that part of the hydrocarbon deposits on the eastern bank of the Euphrates is still under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

You are right that the economic factor played a significant role in the emergence and expansion of the Syrian conflict. Unfortunately, terrorist groups, often used as a lever of external influence, can seriously impede the restoration and exploitation of oil and gas fields. By the way, this phenomenon is typical not only for Syria. Remember Iraq, Libya, Algeria...

All production in Syria is like one Bashneft

Director of the Energy Policy Institute (former Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation) Vladimir Milov I am sure that the oil problem in front of Syria is practically not worth it. Accordingly, there is nothing to share here.

“The topic of oil in Syria is extremely inflated by journalists,” Milov said in an interview with Free Press. “People hear the words 'Syria' and 'oil' and get excited: it's a long tradition to link all conflicts in the Middle East to oil interests. But experts have always said that there is almost no oil in Syria, these are miserable drops. Before the war, Syria produced by the whole country as much as we have Bashneft alone, and almost all of this went to cover domestic consumption.

"SP": - But there are deposits along the Euphrates - where the most fierce battles, by the way, are still going on?

- It is clear that in any war there will be a struggle for some deposits. But in Syria, the deposits are of very poor quality, the oil is heavy and not easy to process. Plus, Assad was, is and will be under Western sanctions, this will not give him the opportunity to export anything special. Now Syria is generally a net importer.

* The "Islamic State" (IS) was recognized as a terrorist organization by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014, its activities in Russia are prohibited.

Russian oil companies have begun signing contracts to invest in oil and gas fields in Syria, and Stroytransgaz has signed an agreement to mine phosphates.

The conclusion of these transactions became possible after the armed forces liberated the territories under the control of the "Islamic State" ( banned in the Russian Federation - approx. ed.). The largest companies that signed contracts were the oil company Evro Polis and Stroytransgaz.

Contracts with the Syrian government are an incentive for Russian companies and contribute to the stabilization of the situation in Syria. On August 5, director of the Center for Strategic Studies Ivan Konovalov, in an interview with the New York Times, said that the agreements were signed back in December, but this became known only now. He explained that if companies provide security, then the state must pay for this service, and it does not matter how. In the oil deal, the newly formed Evro Polis will receive a 25 percent stake in the production of Syrian oil and gas, which will be produced in areas near Palmyra that have been liberated from Islamic State control.

Konovalov argues that the nature of these deals goes back to the days of Francis Drake and Cecil Rhodes, two figures in British history who tied their lives to war and profit ( Francis Drake - English navigator, thanks to whom in the 16th England carried out a number of successful operations on the territory of the Spanish colonies; Cecil Rhodes - one of the organizers of the English colonial expansion in South Africa in the XIX - ed. ed.).

The company is working with a mysterious military company called Wagner, which has been sanctioned by the United States. As for the contract for investment in phosphate mining in central Syria, which was won by Stroytransgaz, in return the latter undertakes to protect phosphate deposits. Most of the shares of this company belong to Gennady Timchenko, whose name is on the US sanctions list. He signed an agreement with the Syrian government to restart phosphate mining in Syria's eastern mines.

Meanwhile, China is carefully studying reports of the presence of oil in the Golan Heights, which is pushing the Chinese leadership to consolidate its status as a defender of peace in the troubled region and implement its One Belt, One Road initiative. China is looking for ways to establish stability in the region in order to advance its project and ensure the continuity of energy supplies from the Middle East. As a result, it is reported that Beijing will intensify its efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The country began to actively support the process of political settlement in Syria, putting forward the idea of ​​a trilateral dialogue between China, Israel and the Palestinian authorities. In addition, China is promoting infrastructure projects in Syria, Jordan and Israel, for which it is planned to bring 20,000 workers.

China has become a player with a real interest in the Middle East. It is increasing resources to protect its portfolio of assets and its citizens. In July, the first group of Chinese troops was sent to a new naval base that was being built in Djibouti to increase China's participation in the peacekeeping force in South Sudan (China has a long history in a united and divided Sudan). Beijing also offered to provide 8,000 peacekeepers for a permanent presence in conflict regions and to join the UN forces to monitor the cessation of hostilities in the Golan in the future.

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Al-Quds Al-Arabi 04/26/2016 In November 2015, the Israeli oil and gas company Afec Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of the American Genie Energy, discovered billions of barrels of oil in the Golan Heights. Yuval Bartov, the company's chief geologist, said: "Reservoirs are up to 350 meters thick, which is ten times the average thickness of oil reservoirs in the world." Genie Energy managed to secure mining licenses despite opposition from environmental and other organizations. These organizations are concerned that drilling could pollute Lake Tiberias, one of Israel's main sources of drinking water. As a result, there is debate in Israel over what is more important for the country: access to drinking water or energy production. In addition, the quality and cost of exploration and production of oil is not yet known, and the project is expected to face legal obstacles.

However, the biggest problem is sovereignty. Israel annexed a significant portion of the Golan Heights in 1981, but the area is still considered illegally occupied Syrian territory internationally. Even Israel recognized this when it offered to give up the Golan Heights, which it occupied in 1967, in exchange for a comprehensive peace deal with Syria. However, it was not achieved under former President Hafez al-Assad, who was defeated on the shores of Lake Tiberias. Since the beginning of the disintegration of Syria in 2011 and discussions about the division of areas that did not include the Golan Heights, Israel has become opposed to any deals and even demanded recognition of control over 1,200 square kilometers occupied in the Golan. Israel undertook a military intervention in Syria in June, when the Syrian army fired on opposition forces in the region. Israel supports a rebel group calling itself the Knights of the Golan and sees them as a buffer force to keep the Syrian army and Iranian-backed Hezbollah from opposing Israeli plans. These developments complicate Genie Energy's plans to extract the natural wealth of the Golan Heights.

There is another potential source of oil in Israel that is being explored by a Texan company called Zion Oil. This company has been drilling wells near Haifa since 2005, producing 484 million barrels of oil. In 2004, geologists confirmed the existence of oil and gas fields there. The company holds a 40,000-hectare exploration license 42 kilometers south of the Genie Energy discovery in the Golan, in addition to the Leviathan and Tamar offshore gas fields. All this will make Israel an important source of energy in the future, not only in the region or in Europe, but also in Asian markets, for example, in China and India. We have witnessed the successful visit of Indian Prime Minister Modi to Israel and the signing of a number of bilateral agreements. In addition, we can observe the expansion of Chinese-Israeli cooperation.

On the other hand, with regard to Syria and Israel, we can note that the Golan Heights will probably host UN peacekeeping forces, especially after Beijing sent 1,000 soldiers to Lebanon in 2006 at the request of Israel, which did not want the Arab forces were on its border. India, South Korea and the Philippines also sent their forces.

Therefore, China's interest in strengthening its presence in the UN peacekeeping force can serve as a means of building confidence. Beijing also aims to become an effective buffer force between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights thanks to good relations with both countries. This region can become a testing ground for establishing good relations between the US and China in the Middle East. The general interest in working on new oil fields in the Golan Heights undoubtedly contributes to this.

As for Russian oil companies, the Syrian government is ready to conclude deals with them in the format of "security in exchange for the extraction of natural resources." It is now known that Russia's participation in the Middle East wars was aimed, among other things, at obtaining contracts for oil production. As Russian companies begin signing agreements and extracting energy, Russia's goals are becoming known. Beijing, as always, does not deviate from its strategy, building six industrial islands in China, which caused America to wake up and take control of the coastline. While other countries are at war, China is implementing economic and trade projects, which involve thousands of Chinese workers.

Iran has already begun to suffer from their influx as a result of the implementation of the Chinese "Silk Road". The smell of oil attracts many countries, forcing them to send peacekeeping forces into the country to cover oil deals, and Israel, in turn, wants to reach China through pipelines through the Mediterranean, Haifa and the Golan Heights.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.

According to the framework agreement on energy cooperation signed at the end of January, Russia will receive the exclusive right to extract gas and oil in Syria.

The agreement goes far beyond agreements that describe the terms of cooperation in the field of repair and restoration of drilling rigs and production infrastructure. The Russians will also train a new generation of Syrian oil workers and provide energy consulting. Thanks to this step, Moscow will be able to strengthen its position in the Middle East.

Due to the ongoing war since 2011, the Syrian energy sector has fallen into disrepair. Local refineries are in need of a massive upgrade. Before the war, their capacity was 250 thousand barrels per day, now it has halved. As long as the embargo imposed by the EU is in effect, Syria cannot count on the support of European companies in Syria. Neither Brussels nor Washington will lift the ban on the import of Syrian hydrocarbons for political reasons: the military operations that have been going on for more than six years have not led to regime change, Bashar al-Assad remains in power, who is accused of using chemical weapons and other crimes.

Russia, Iran and Syria

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Donya-e Eqtesad 19.02.2018 Countries that could help the Syrians restore the oil and gas sector are Russia and Iran. According to agreements signed in September last year, Iranian companies were supposed to launch Syrian oil refineries and restore destroyed energy networks. The front of work is very large: it will be necessary to launch new projects on land and at sea, to upgrade outdated equipment. At the same time, it should be taken into account that domestic demand for hydrocarbons will grow, since additional energy capacities will be needed to restore the economy destroyed by the war. Obviously, without help from outside Syria, it will not be possible to quickly breathe new life into the mining sector.

Tehran counted on the emergence of an Iran-Venezuela-Syria consortium that could put these plans into practice, but due to the serious economic problems that have arisen in Caracas, other solutions will have to be found. At the moment, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has succeeded in achieving one of its goals - to take control of the Syrian telecommunications sector.

Russia, against which European and American sanctions continue to operate, is not afraid of restrictive measures: it has long since learned to successfully cope with them. The steps taken by the Kremlin indicate that it intends to achieve a dominant position in this part of the world. His long-term strategy appears to include rebuilding the Syrian oil and gas sector.

In 2015, the International Monetary Fund estimated that $27 billion would have to be spent on this goal, but according to the latest data, the figure has increased to $35-40 billion. This money will be needed to restore the entire infrastructure (pipelines, pumping stations, and so on), which can only be restarted after repairs have been made. For political reasons, the process will not affect the northern provinces occupied by the Syrian Kurds, where there are large oil fields. The future of deposits (including the largest one, Al-Omar) in territories controlled by forces that enjoy the support of the West, and not the Syrian army, also remains unclear.

Who will produce oil and gas in Syria?

It is still unknown which Russian company will be involved in the restoration of the Syrian energy sector. In the first four years of the war, Soyuzneftegaz worked in Syria, but in 2015 he decided to leave this country. Another candidate is Tatneft, which develops oil and gas fields in Tatarstan. Syria was one of the first countries where this Russian company tried its hand at the international market, so when favorable conditions appear, it will want to return there. In addition, there are chances that such state giants as Rosneft and Gazpromneft will decide to join their competitor.

In 2002, Syria produced 677,000 barrels of oil per day. Before the start of the civil war, this figure was 380 thousand barrels, and now it has fallen to a level of 14-15 thousand barrels. The decline in gas production was not as significant due to the important role that this raw material plays in the Syrian economy: 90% of the blue gold mined in the country is used to generate electricity. In the pre-war period, the volume of production reached 8 billion cubic meters per year, now it is 3.5 billion cubic meters.

© AFP 2017, Youssef Karawashan

Before the war, Syrian oil was mainly exported to Europe, this was facilitated by the country's geographical location and the fact that European companies such as Shell and Total were the main players in this sector of the Syrian economy. Since the European ban on the supply of Syrian oil continues to operate, the new owner of the production infrastructure will have to find new markets for Syrian hydrocarbons. In this context, it seems logical to focus on the countries of the region: Turkey or Lebanon.

From an economic point of view, it is more profitable for Russia to take control of gas fields. Gas is the main raw material for electricity production in Syria, which means that demand for it in the domestic market will remain stable. In addition, there is a high probability that there is a field on the Syrian continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that is not inferior in terms of reserves to the Zohr, Leviathan and Aphrodite fields.

The goal is a dominant position in the region

Moscow is seeking to consolidate its position in Southwest Asia. Rosneft and Gazprom Neft are operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, while Novatek is producing offshore gas in the eastern countries of the Mediterranean Sea. Oil and gas are not only energy resources. First of all, they are needed by the chemical industry for the manufacture of ubiquitous plastics, lubricants, pesticides, medicines, as well as for obtaining a variety of substances necessary for the production of other materials and products, including chemical fertilizers. Modern man cannot imagine life without all this.

If Russia manages to take control of the Syrian fields, it will receive a non-military instrument of influence on international politics and will be able to influence OPEC more effectively. The Kremlin is ready to direct a lot of resources, both financial, intellectual and human, to satisfy its geopolitical ambitions.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.