Gas wars
With the EU desperate to ditch Russian gas, the European Parliament corruption scandal emerged (https://www.politico.eu/article/scandal-qatargate-crisis-european-union-corruption-crisis/) earlier this month shows findin alternative and sustainable source of energy won’t be an easy task, Politico writes (https://www.politico.eu/article/qatargate-germany-european-parliament-qatar-corruption-scandal-gives-europe-a-big-gas-headache/).
The Gulf state is at the center of cash-for-influence allegations that have shaken (https://www.politico.eu/article/scandal-qatargate-crisis-european-union-corruption-crisis/) EU democracy to its core, the outlet notes. For Germany in particular, desperate to find alternative suppliers to Russia, the furore highlights how, in the world of energy geopolitics, there are rarely any easy options.
Over the weekend, Qatar warned (https://www.ft.com/content/28fa5d28-228e-4ef9-9d50-d5771c794e8a)the European Parliament’s “discriminatory”move to ban its representatives at the institution could harm broader EU-Qatari cooperation where the bloc is dependent on Doha, including with energy.
🎮Soft power game
Russian government is mulling over a set of measures to support the Russian video game industry until 2030. In particular, it could create a state-controlled game developer, the funding of which, under the most ambitious scenario, will require up to $50 billion, Kommersant has learnt (https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5733186). The government also wants to launch a domestic rating agency as well as increase the number of studios developing games by 14 times.
The plan is to release 25 new video games by 2030, costing country budget 6.5 billion rubles each, and 40 less expensive ones, so that they compete with popular global projects and become a "soft power tool" abroad. But taking into account the fact that most of the specialized specialists have left the country, it will be impossible to realize the goals, experts say.
🔥Russian infra on fire
A unit at an oil and gas condensate Markovskoye (Markovsky) field in Russia's Irkutsk region in Siberia caught fire over an area of about 1,000 square metres on Sunday, but the blaze was quickly brought under control, according to region authorities (https://t.me/kobzevii/1903) and EMERCON services.
The Irkutsk incident emerges as yet another one is a series of mysterious fires that took place at infrastructure sites or large commercial facilities in several past weeks. While there are no official statements on any link between them all, many commenters warn of Ukraine’s successful guerrilla war within Russian territory.
Minsk visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin will on Monday visit Minsk for the first time since 2019. He and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko are “expected to discuss “the whole palette of our bilateral relations, trade and economic cooperation, this is an integration issue," according to Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
“There is no denying the symbolic and political significance of Putin's first trip to Belarus in three years: this is a rare type of visit when the President of Russia comes to visit friends and obvious allies”, Nikolay Mezhevich, head of the Center for Belarusian Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told (https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2022/12/19/955873-putin-posetit-belorussiyu) Vedomosti.
⚔️Peace formula
The former secretary of state Henry Kissinger proposed his vision (https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-push-for-peace/) for peace talks in an article published on Saturday by The Spectator. He argues for a ceasefire line along the borders existing where the war started on 24 February. While territories it has controlled before (including Crimea) “could be the subject of a negotiation after a ceasefire”.
Meanwhile Ukraine which “has acquired one of the largest and most effective land armies in Europe, equipped by America and its allies” should official ties with NATO.
He then added that while he has repeatedly expressed his support for the “allied military effort” to counter Russia’s aggression, “the time is approaching to build on the strategic changes which have already been accomplished and to integrate them into a new structure towards achieving peace through negotiation”.
courtesy : t.me/russiawire
