- Re: Russia throws down the gauntlet to US on Venezuela Archived Message
- Russia throws down the gauntlet to US on Venezuela - Keith-264 March 29, 2019, 11:26 am
Posted by Tomski
on March 29, 2019, 2:11 pm, in reply to "Russia throws down the gauntlet to US on Venezuela"
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I think he makes an important point here about both US and Russian interests here: ... it is vitally important for Russia that the US, which aspires to be the number one exporter of oil and gas, does not gain control of the vast Venezuelan reserves, as that would mean an enormous capacity falling into Washington’s hands to manipulate the supply and demand in the world energy market and set the price of oil and gas. Stripped to its vitals, the US is certainly aware that the their oil production from fracking will be relatively short-lived and that ultimately this is not something they cannot rely on, long-term. Another good point: In geopolitical terms, a strong Russian presence in Venezuela becomes a negotiating chip for Moscow in dealing with the growing NATO and American deployments along Russia’s western borders in central and eastern Europe and the Baltic states. That alone makes Venezuela a strategic partner for Russia. Although the author mentions current Chinese and Russian investments in Venezuela in passing, it would have been good to see the actual figures. From memory these ran into single billions, but may require rapid future investments at home for refining heavy Venezuelan oil (and then there are shipping costs). This will take time. I note that at the moment they can only ship relatively small amounts, so Venezuela is still in a precarious economic condition. If this synergy eventually succeeds, the US commercial leverage over Venezuela will be substantially reduced. Cheers |
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