WP columnist Rauhala says Norway improperly enriched by Ukraine crisis

MOSCOW, October 8 – RIA Novosti. Western experts shame Norway for “aggressive” enrichment in the Ukrainian conflict, author Emily Rauhala columnist for the Washington Post.

As stated in the article, as the energy crisis worsened after the situation in Eastern Europe worsened, this Scandinavian country began to play an increasingly important role in the continent’s fuel security.

At the same time, critics say Oslo is making money “inappropriately” from the EU. The Kingdom will receive $109 billion from the oil sector this year, up $82 billion from last year. Most of the total will go to the sovereign wealth fund, which has already crossed the trillion-dollar mark.

Norwegian authorities deny all accusations of speculation and say the price of the resource is inevitably high due to market shortages.

Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow after Russia launched a special operation to liberate Donbass. This plunged Europe into an economic and energy crisis and led to higher fuel and food prices. The situation was also aggravated by the closure of the main Russian gas pipeline feeding the continent. Gas exports via Nord Stream came to a complete halt at the end of August due to the failure of a key turbine at the Portovaya compressor station. Russia noted that Siemens gas pumping units could not be repaired due to sanctions.

At the end of September, terrorist attacks took place on Nord Stream highways. Germany, Denmark and Sweden did not rule out targeted sabotage. Operator Nord Stream AG said that the state of emergency on gas pipelines is unprecedented and it is impossible to predict the timing of repairs. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case against the act of international terrorism. However, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod announced the government’s determination to refuse Moscow’s involvement in the sabotage investigation.