Will Russia halt gas supplies to Europe?

Russia is using energy as a weapon to counter the sanctions imposed on it by European countries and to prevent the EU from supporting Ukraine in the war.

Russia has halted gas supplies to Bulgaria, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark due to the non-payment of fuel payments in rubles by those countries. Today, Russia is taking a more strategic step by deciding to stop supplies of natural gas to Europe via the main Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

The opening and closing of the natural gas valve by Russia is one of its most important trump cards, and this process will be long-lived as a result of the dargging of the war.

It is noteworthy that energy countries- fall into one of two categories: On the one hand, there are countries with high energy resources, on the other hand, there are countries that consume these resources.

In this period, countries such as Russia, which boast energy resources, enjoy a great advantage. Because a country rich in natural gas like Russia is refusing to supply it to European countries that need a large amount of this crucial resource. As this drives up gas prices in Europe, it is becoming more and more difficult for these countries to secure the much-needed resource.

Because it is difficult for natural gas to be pumped to European countries through pipelines, and there is a pressing need for new terminals and investments in LNG. And since natural gas is not easy to store, a limited amount of it is stored in European countries as well as all over the world.

Thus, it will cause several countries that are dependent on Russia to take energy-saving measures and spend this winter in very difficult conditions. Already, EU countries, which convened due to Russia's ongoing gas supply halt, are suggesting different solutions for what to do in a possible energy crisis.

We will see how these measures will mitigate the potential energy crisis.

On the flip side, we have countries that consume natural gas. Since European countries boast high GDPs, they consume large amounts of energy, have a high dependence on Russia, and thus have difficulty in finding alternatives in the short term.

Countries that are dependent on foreign energy and consume high amounts of energy are also ones that enrich countries such as Russia, which ensures energy supply security. Moreover, the fact that it is obligatory to buy natural gas from Russia even in wartime shows just how important it is to have an independent energy security policy.

Thanks to the resources they spend on energy, European countries are also a serious source of income for the Russian economy.

Although Russia may be using natural gas as a weapon against numerous European countries that are highly dependent on it, it is clear that they are trying to access and search for new alternatives in energy to overcome this crisis. On the other hand, European countries accessing alternatives would drain Russia economically.