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Russia's energy and military leverage, 19 February 2020
Summary
Three reports from mid-February 2020 showed Moscow's oil and military ties under strain and scrutiny in Venezuela, Syria and Belarus.
What did Russia's oil and military reach look like on 19 February 2020? Reports from the preceding days pointed to pressure and activity on three fronts.
Sanctions over Venezuelan oil
On 18 February 2020, the U.S. State Department added Russian oil company Rosneft Trading S.A. to its financial blacklist. The listing was for helping facilitate the sale of Venezuelan oil, and it came during the Venezuelan crisis.
Gains in northwestern Syria
On 16 February 2020, Syrian Army troops, backed by Russian airstrikes, took control of most of the Aleppo countryside. They captured the towns of Anadan, Haritan and Kafr Hamrah and more than 30 villages, amid a collapse in rebel defences. Much of the area had been under rebel control since 2012. The advance belonged to the offensive in northwestern Syria under way since December 2019.
A dispute over crude with Belarus
On 14 February 2020, Belarus threatened to take oil from the Druzhba pipeline if Russia did not supply the crude it required. Druzhba carries Russian oil to central Europe across Belarusian territory. Supplies for 2020 had not been agreed, and shipments had dwindled to 500,000 tonnes, down from a planned 2 million tonnes.
What the reports show
Taken together, the reports show Russian oil at the centre of a sanctions action and a supply dispute, while Russian airpower supported a rapid ground advance in Syria. For Ukraine's neighbourhood, the Belarus dispute was the most direct concern, since the pipeline in question carries Russian crude towards central Europe.
