British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, saying the West needs to build “the broadest coalition” to stop reliance on Russian energy sources.
Johnson is scheduled to travel to Riyadh soon, for talks on energy supplies.
The visit comes following Saudi Arabia executed 81 people in one day following they were convicted of terrorist acts and communicating with foreign parties.
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt said the executions had left Johnson facing “significant difficulties” in seeking help from Saudi Arabia on oil supplies.
But the prime minister told reporters if the West wanted to avoid “blackmail” from Russian President Vladimir Putin, it needed to look for other partnerships.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, energy and fuel prices were on the rise in all Western countries.
But since the war began, the cost has skyrocketed, with petrol prices hitting record levels in countries including Britain.
Johnson commented that “Russian aggression” in Ukraine “helped to cause a sharp rise in oil and gas prices”, but that there had been a problem for a long time.
“Vladimir Putin over the past years … has been feeding the addiction of Western countries to” Russian energy products, he added.
He stressed the need to “get rid of this addiction.”
‘Avoid extortion’
After the mass execution in Saudi Arabia, some called on the British prime minister to cancel his trip.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said on Monday.
“If the prime minister goes in the next few days to Saudi Arabia, we will send a very clear signal that no matter what we say, we are not really worried regarding this kind of thing (the execution),” he added.
picture released, PA Media
Johnson said part of building a “long-term security of Britain’s energy supply” was to make sure in the short term “we are not as dependent in the West as we are now, on Russian oil and gas”.
“It is vital, if we are to stand up to Putin’s bullying, and if we want to avoid being blackmailed by him in the way many Western countries have unfortunately fallen into, we must get rid of Russian hydrocarbons,” he added.
He continued, “We need to talk to other producers around the world regarding how to move away from this dependency.”
Johnson stressed the importance of building a strong rally to counter Putin, saying, “We need to make sure that we build … the largest rally possible to ensure that Vladimir Putin does not succeed.”
While the upcoming talks in the Gulf focus on increasing oil and gas production to offset falling Russian supplies, Johnson wrote in the British Telegraph that his promising strategy for Britain’s security would boost the use of wind energy, harness solar energy and promote “a big new bet series” on nuclear power.
Johnson also made a proposal for more oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
A Labor spokesman said it was “right at the time of this crisis to look for alternative sources of oil for Britain outside of Russia”.
He criticized the ruling Conservative Party, saying that “the only reason we have to do this is 12 years of failure of the Conservative government to provide energy independence in Britain.”
“Importing oil may only be a short-term response and will not address the long-term challenges to our energy security or the cost of living,” he added.
