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The UN logo hangs in the General Assembly Hall ahead of the general debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York City on Tuesday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License photo
September 20 (UPI) – Italy has turned to Africa as European countries seek new energy solutions in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that Italy is willing to connect Europe with the resource-rich continent to reduce its interest in Kremlin gas dependence.
“The EU is destined to look further and further south, and Italy wants to be a bridge to the southern shore of the Mediterranean, to the entire African continent,” he said. Say before the 77th session United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank, told world leaders attending the meeting that in response to the war, Europe and its allies were quick to impose punitive sanctions on the Kremlin, which immediately sought to divide the EU by wielding its poison gas. Blackmail weapon.
Since then, Italy has signed deals with “numerous” African countries, including Algeria, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will help Rome halve its reliance on Russian gas by 2024, he said. completely independent.
“We want to develop green technologies together to put Africa at the heart of the green transition,” he said.
Before the war, Russia was the main supplier of crude oil, natural gas and solid fossil fuels to the EU at a cost of approximately $100 billion per year. Massive punitive sanctions were imposed on Kremlin aggression, and Moscow used its energy resources as a stick.
Earlier this month, Russian state energy giant Gazprom Announce Shut off airflow through indefinitely north creek Pipeline 1, which accounts for 35% of Europe’s total Russian gas imports, citing oil spills.
The announcement comes after the G7 countries agreed to a price cap on Russian oil.
Draghi argues that rising energy costs put its economic recovery at risk, limiting household purchasing power, hurting the productive capacity of businesses and limiting European commitments to Ukraine.
“We need to do more now, especially at the European level,” he said. “As Italy has long advocated, the EU must put a ceiling on gas import prices, which will also help us reduce payments to Russia even further.
“Europe must support member states while supporting Kyiv.”
He added that the world must respond to Russia’s attack on “peaceful coexistence among nations” with multilateralism, and reiterated the values that underpin the UN General Assembly, including respect for human rights, international cooperation and non-belligerence.
“Our response to the Ukrainian war helps to reiterate that in the 21st century there is no room for unprovoked violence. Italy hopes that in the future Russia will re-respect the principles it signed in 1945,” Draghi said. He said the country is part of the United Nations The founding member states of “a world spanned by strict ideological boundaries and military confrontations will not produce development and will not solve problems,” he said.
“We must maintain our identity but conduct international relations in a responsible, lawful and peaceful manner.”
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