Iran - Greece and the "oil war" of the West (“Faros - Web Radio”, Greece)
The inscription on the map: "Key facilities of the oil sector (Iran)"
Iran - Greece and the "oil war" of the West in the context of the "Orthodox pipeline" Burgas-Alexandroupolis
The campaign of the USA and Israel together with some European countries, especially Britain and France, against Iran has reached a new level with the introduction of an embargo against its oil sector. Although a framework agreement was reached in the EU, Greece’s position in this hostile climate is unique.
The situation with Iran is combined with the freezing of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project (also called the “Orthodox pipeline”), which Bulgaria froze under strong influence from the United States (as explained later), which makes it even more outrageous regarding Greece’s right to choose its energy sources .
In Greece, there is an economic crisis that began in the United States with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the crisis associated with Iran, with its nuclear program and sanctions. EU discussions on the imposition of an oil embargo from Iran have combined these two different situations in the context of angry Greek public opinion towards the EU and the United States for what is perceived as a perverse injustice towards Greece.
In short, the external observer should take into account the following points in order to have a correct understanding of the issue and elements related to Greece:
- Greece gets more than 35% of its oil from Iran, having unlimited credit to buy.
- No other country sells oil to Greece in this way due to the economic situation.
- The Saudi option is vulnerable due to the country's support for Islamic extremists, especially among almost 1500000 illegal immigrants in Greece (mostly Muslims), who also contribute to the explosive growth of unemployment with the knowledge of the EU and the USA.
- The Greeks have no real confidence in the West that Greece will continue to receive oil from other sources on favorable terms. After all, why don't they do it now, and why only Iran does it?
- There is no confidence in the accusations of the West regarding the Iranian nuclear program, because the credibility of the United States and the West was virtually destroyed after the "discovery" weapons mass destruction in Iraq, which did not exist. Completely biased and anti-Greek coverage of the economic crisis reinforces the Greek resistance to Western governments and the media.
- The freezing of the Greek-Russian-Bulgarian pipeline project Burgas-Alexandroupolis (as a result of the refusal of the Bulgarian government at the instigation of the US) coincided with the ban of Iran as a supplier, and this makes Greece understand that the United States and the EU are depriving Greece of the right to choose suitable suppliers: this is a kind of ban Greece to have freedom of choice.
- The flexibility of the US and the EU to allow British Petroleum to continue doing business with Iran in the gas project Shah Deniz II is seen as direct evidence of hypocrisy. The reason why US and EU officials lobbied the US Congress not to impose sanctions on British Petroleum is for Europe to "achieve energy security and independence from Russia": they showed who their real target is Russia and perhaps China.
- None of them were interested in Greece when Greece tried to achieve energy security and independence from Turkey through the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline (which would also increase Europe’s independence from Turkey). They want, however, that Greece supports their policy towards Iran, that it risks the supply and supply of oil in Greece, and at the same time they want to leave the British company in Iran !!!
“Why not likewise liberate Greece from applying sanctions against Iran, since Iran is the only reliable source of oil for Greece, which does not ask Greece to provide guarantees of prepayment, and Greece gets long-term good prices in a difficult situation in which the economic crisis has put it.
- Wikileaks documents from the US State Department showed that the previous US pressure on Athens was directed mainly to ensure that Greece was another “conquest” of Washington. The Americans wanted to show that European countries support US policy, and Greece was one of the trophy countries. The main target was the shipping company IRISL Iranian Shipping Lines, and Greek shipowners opposed the idea of stopping the transportation of Iranian oil.
Hundreds of millions in fine for Bulgaria
The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project is designed to transport Russian oil to Bulgaria and then send it to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis via an onshore pipeline. Thus, it will not be necessary to pass through an overloaded and unstable strait controlled by Turkey, between the Black and Mediterranean Sea. Oil would have to be loaded onto vessels in Alexandroupolis in order to transport it to Europe and to other regions. It is also an environmentally more reliable way, since tankers would not have to sail from Russia to the Mediterranean, they would be less overloaded, and the possibility of oil leakage would be limited. Also the transportation time would be reduced.
Frankly, the pro-American Bulgarian prime minister stopped the project ... "because of concern for the environment" (although all studies approved the project) because "the people of Burgas did not want it" and because it is not financially viable. The project was called the "Orthodox pipeline" because Greece, Russia and Bulgaria are Orthodox countries, and the freeze is seen as an American attempt to block Russian expansion into the energy sector, even if Greece and Bulgaria are also damaged. Extreme Protestant neoconservatives in Washington initiated these hostile actions against Orthodox countries.
However, Bulgaria will have to pay a fine for blocking the project. The recent embargo on Iranian oil has raised related issues, including the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline issue. The cost of transporting oil through this "Orthodox pipeline" was assumed at the level of 8 dollars per ton, which is almost equal to the cost of transportation through the strait. The Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline had a higher cost, and Turkey asks for a larger share of the proceeds from it. The US intervention in Bulgaria may have been supported by Turkey, since it forces Russia not to look for alternative routes.
Leaving the project, as the Greek sources say, Bulgaria will be obliged to pay a fee for the delay in Greece and Russia. Greek officials are not the first to announce this. At the end of last year, Russian officials indicated that the minimum penalty will be 200.000.000 dollars. The maximum can reach a level in 1 billion dollars. The Bulgarian side has already owed 7 millions of dollars from its contribution to the project, and, at least, the Russian side made it clear that they will apply to the Bulgarian government in an international court if it insists on not paying the fine if the project is completely canceled .
The current embargo on Iranian oil and global instability in the oil trade, which is likely to happen, draws attention to the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project with even greater need. He would help the European Union achieve independence from the unstable region of Turkey (due to the Kurdish, Amian and Greek problems it faces), but non-European (American) interests are blocking it.
The Greeks understand that they are being drawn into a situation that is not an urgent problem for Greece and does not have a real ethical basis. The Iranian nuclear program is not a serious topic for Greek society in its hierarchy of problems. But the difficult economic situation (in which Iran is the only oil supplier offering unlimited credit) is now viewed as being created by the European Union and the United States. Just to summarize the injustices that the Greek public sees in the western attack against Greece and its reputation, we cite the following:
Germany owes Greece many hundreds of billions of euros of money stolen by the Nazis (a "power loan" from Nazi Germany occupied Greece). Hitler began to pay the "loan" of Greece, but after the collapse of Germany, the subsequent German governments did not discuss the German debt of Greece. This amount, together with all recognized German financial obligations in respect of Greece, exceeds 700,000,000,000 (700 billion) euros at current prices, if we take into account interest rates. This is NOT an EXPLANATION, this is the money that Germany REALLY owes to Greece.
- The corruption money from procurement for the needs of military production, the C4I system for the 2004 Olympic Games of the year, etc., amount to many tens of billions of euros, and European (especially German) companies account for a large share in this money laundering. This is the money of Greek taxpayers who went into the pockets of sponsors of European (and other) political parties.
- Part of the Greek bonds are corruption payments in the form of procurement projects for military production and government procurement in favor of foreign companies - political parties.
- Greeks NOT WANTED to refuse drachma. They did not want the euro, because for Greece there was no benefit, on the contrary, the Greek society was damaged. Goldman Sachs with (educated in Germany) Prime Minister Costas Simitis and with the knowledge of Washington and Berlin changed the financial data of Greece. Berlin wanted to get another country in the Eurozone, Washington wanted to use Greece as a trigger if it wants to create problems in the European Union.
- Not a single western news the publication (including the Air Force) did not publish all of this information, at least not in comparable extent with the attacks against Greece.
Greece was urged to agree to serve foreign interests (based on dubious information and ethics), to participate in the embargo and to take an energy risk, while those who ask Greece to do all this, deliberately put it in this difficult economic situation. The first thing that should be done is to ensure that those who owe Greece money pay this money, and Greece will not have any financial problems. The Greeks do not understand that at the highest level in the EU there is even more corruption.
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