Belousov: Russia needed to be reminded at APEC that gas prices did not rise because of Ukraine

BANGKOK, November 18 – RIA Novosti. At the APEC summit, Russia should be reminded that, in response to criticism from hostile countries, gas prices did not rise due to events in Ukraine – this happened in 2021, but in general, those who attended the meeting understood that it was impossible to solve it. The head of the Russian delegation, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, told reporters on the sidelines of the summit that there are global problems without Russia.

The APEC summit will be held in the Thai capital on 18-19 November. “The forum, among other things, brought together representatives of countries hostile to us, and I must say that they were quite soft, that is, when, for example, at a ministerial meeting, the representatives got up and left – this never happened,” said the First Deputy Prime Minister. RF.

“Yes, there were criticisms, including some pretty unfair criticism of Russia, which I even had to correct when my colleagues started blaming Russia again that gas and energy prices skyrocketed because of the Ukraine events, and the food crisis broke out. Not all of this in 2022. To remember that it’s in 2021: gas prices have increased almost 10 times, fertilizer prices have increased almost 3-4 times, food prices have increased, grain prices – and all this has happened for completely other reasons.”

In general, he described the results of the first day of the summit as quite positive, but the fact that the forum took place against the backdrop of dramatic events (energy and food crisis, recession prospects) cannot affect the course of the discussion.

“And the positive thing is that the leaders of the APEC member states have had a very constructive approach to this. There was no confusion, no attempts to blame each other, no desire to create any individual strategy. Basically, the emphasis was that we all scooped out of this situation together. “It was necessary. The traditional agenda this year was filled with practical concerns,” Belousov explained.

As for Russia’s role at the top, according to Belousov, there is an absolutely certain belief that APEC members have an understanding that none of the major global problems can be resolved without Russia.

“Today, when criticism of Russia by the Americans and the Japanese came in in the closed sessions, it was very interesting to watch Macron (French President Emmanuel Macron – ed.) speak with criticism, followed by the following phrase after a few sentences: ” To be honest, I didn’t feel it today.”