Europe and US have been dependent on less democratic regimes in their energy policies - Bildt

RIGA - Europe and the United States have been dependent on less democratic regimes in their energy polices, and in a way they still are, Sweden's former premier and foreign minister Carl Bildt said at the annual Riga Conference 2022. 

The Swedish politician projected that this dependency will continue also in the future. Such an approach will be determined by countries' interests and not values. In Bildt's view, the problem with dependency on Russian gas was that at a time when the supply agreements were concluded Russia had not yet become as hostile as it is now. 

Hopefully, we will be able to give up fossil fuels, but when we will get that far is a question. Various commodities come from parts of the world where there are problems, Bildt said, adding that apparently, God's decisions were not based in values when he was distributing the world's energy resources. 

As for the West, its history is not white at all, and there is no question about that. But however bad the West might be, there are problems also in the East, while the South is divided. In the east, problems can be seen not only Russia, but also China. Bildt warned that when too much power is concentrated in the hands of an authoritarian leader, he eventually starts making major mistakes. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken irrational decisions, including decisions suggesting that China too is going down the wrong path. 

If we look at the Southern Hemisphere, the largest countries like Brazil, Indonesia and also India are in doubts and quite a few African countries have taken the other side, Bildt said, emphasizing that the South is not united but rather divided.