- George Soros has said that Europe may have more negotiating power than it thinks in dealing with Russia.
- The billionaire called on Europe to impose a “heavy tax on gas imports”.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Soros, could also trigger a third world war, and lead to the end of civilization.
Europe may have more negotiating power than you think when it comes to dealing with Russia.
This is according to billionaire George Soros, who has urged Europe to use its position as a major consumer of Russian natural gas to take a tougher stance against Russia, Bloomberg mentioned.
The hedge fund mogul, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday, said he had sent his views to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, according to the news outlet.
“Europe is his only market,” Soros wrote to Draghi on May 23, citing a copy of the text.
In 2021, advanced economies in Europe were the largest importers of Russian natural gas, collectively accounting for nearly three-quarters of the country’s total exports, according to US Energy Information Administration.
“If he does not supply Europe, he should close the wells in Siberia from which the gas comes,” Soros went on, according to the news outlet. “It takes time to close them and once they are closed, it is difficult to reopen because of the age of the equipment.”
Soros also called on Europe to impose heavy taxes on gas imports. “Russia will never get back the sales it lost,” he wrote in Bloomberg.
A philanthropist and donor to liberal political causes said at a dinner at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had… launch of World War III, No civilization may not survive.
“We must mobilize all our resources to end the war early,” he said. “The best and perhaps the only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat Putin as quickly as possible.” France Press agency.
Bloomberg quotes Soros as saying he wrote to Draghi saying the Italian leader is one of those “initiative” and “imaginative”.
Prior to taking over as Prime Minister of Italy in February 2021, Draghi was the head of the European Central Bank for eight years. In his tenure as Europe’s largest central banker, he is credited with save the euro of collapse during the eurozone debt crisis that peaked between 2010 and 2012.
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