Putin humiliated as Israel turns on 'ally' Russia to strike major energy deal with EU
ISRAEL has left Vladimir Putin red-faced after striking a major natural gas deal with the European Union.
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The EU and Israel are set to sign a natural gas export deal today that will help to decrease Europe's reliance on Russia. The bloc is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas exports, relying on Moscow for about 40 percent of its energy imports in 2021. According to Israel's Energy Ministry, a deal with the EU will for the first time allow "significant" exports of Israeli gas to Europe.
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The gas that is transported from Israel, will be sent to liquefaction plants in Egypt, after which it will be shipped north to Europe.
The framework deal will be signed by Israel, the EU and Egypt during a regional energy conference in Cairo, according to the Israeli ministry.
This deal is a sign of straining relations between Moscow and Tel Aviv since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In February, the Israeli government condemned Russia's invasion as a "violation of the world order."
This is a far cry from their relationship in 2016, where during a meeting with then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Putin described Israel and Russia as "unconditional allies".
This deal could be a major blow to Putin’s war efforts, as the bloc is Russia’s biggest buyer of energy supplies.
Experts have argued that by continuing to purchase Russian fossil fuels even after the invasion of Ukraine, the EU is effectively bankrolling Russia’s invasion by handing them millions every day.
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), in the first 100 days of the war in Ukraine, Russia made €93 billion (£80 billion) in fossil fuel exports.
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Of this figure, the EU was responsible for 61 percent of Russia’s total fossil fuel exports, worth about €57billion (£49billion).
During a visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted that the bloc was looking to Israel to reduce its reliance on Russia.
In a joint press briefing with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, she said: "We want to boost our energy cooperation with Israel.”
She added that the EU was Russia's "biggest, most important client" in energy supplies, however, the invasion of Ukraine had spurred the bloc to pivot away from Russian fossil fuels, including by boosting natural gas imports from the eastern Mediterranean.
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She said: "It is, for us, very important and I'm very grateful that we are now discussing this fascinating project that you are willing to increase the deliveries of gas to the European Union via Egypt.”
Mr Bennet welcomed the deal, describing it as a "very strong, positive" trajectory in Israeli relations with the EU, adding, "trade, innovation, economic cooperation are soaring."
In a separate meeting on Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi met Mr Bennet to reduce the country’s reliance on Israel through "the gas resources of the eastern Mediterranean".
