US billionaire George Soros warned on Tuesday that civilization “may not survive” the war in Ukraine, but said Europe may be in a “stronger position” than it thinks regarding Russian gas.
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“The invasion (of Ukraine by Russia) may be the beginning of the Third World War, and our civilization may not survive it,” he said in a speech at a dinner traditionally organized in Davos (Switzerland) on the sidelines of the meeting. World Economic Forum.
“The best and only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat (Russian President Vladimir) Putin as soon as possible,” he stressed.
The EU is currently struggling to agree on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, particularly because some of its member states rely heavily on Russian hydrocarbons for energy and are therefore reluctant to address them.
I think Putin is very clever and is a kind of blackmailing Europe by threatening to cut off gas. But in reality, his case is less solid than he claims,” Mr. Soros said.
He argues that Russia voluntarily created a shortage last winter by storing its gas rather than sending it to Europe, which has driven up prices, but has also filled its tanks that will be “full by July.”
The Russian president is “in crisis, and he has somehow succeeded in terrorizing Europe.” But he “is in a tense situation. He has to do something with this gas, and the only place he can absorb it, because there are pipelines, is Europe “, argues the billionaire.
He made this clear in a letter to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, to which he said he had not yet received a response.
