Boris Johnson called on Western countries to end their “addiction” to Russian hydrocarbons

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday urged Western countries to end their “addiction” to Russian hydrocarbons, before starting a visit to Saudi Arabia.

In an opinion piece published in the conservative daily Telegraph, Johnson considered that Western leaders made a “terrible mistake” by allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to “get away with it” following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and by increasing their dependence on Russian gas and oil.

“When he finally launched his cruel war in Ukraine, he knew that the world would have a very difficult time punishing him. I knew I had created an addiction,” Johnson stressed.

“The world cannot be subjected to this ongoing blackmail,” he added, calling for an end to this “addiction” now.

The United States and the United Kingdom decided to stop importing Russian oil, while the much more dependent European Union plans to reduce its gas purchases from Moscow by two-thirds this year.

Claiming that Putin's Russia produces “practically nothing else” that the “rest of the world wants to buy,” Johnson said that “if the world can end its dependence on Russian oil and gas, we can take its money from it, destroy its strategy.”

The British Prime Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia seeks to reduce energy price volatility for British companies.

But the trip has been criticized by human rights activists, especially after the execution of 81 people sentenced to death in that country on Saturday.

Johnson should also set out in the coming weeks his government's energy security strategy, focusing on renewable energy and oil and gas extraction from the North Sea, which would help reduce the UK's energy dependence and meet its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

(With information from AFP)

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