Russian Energy Minister Warns of Severe Middle East Logistics Crisis

WASHINGTON, September 15. /TASS/. The Middle East is experiencing its most severe energy logistics crisis in modern history, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov told TASS.

Commenting on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Tsivilyov noted: "The crisis in the Middle East once again highlights global energy interdependence and geographical bottlenecks in the international hydrocarbon trade."

"The ongoing disruption of normal shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is causing the most serious energy logistics crisis in modern history. These persistent disruptions severely undermine global energy security by hindering the normal transit of oil and gas," he said ahead of the G20 ministerial energy meeting in Houston, Texas, which runs through September 16.

"Under current circumstances, we must completely rethink established concepts regarding the fundamental principles of global energy security and its associated key risks," the minister added.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned in a mid-July analytical note that much of the capacity to mitigate a global energy crisis--triggered by the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran--has already been exhausted. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, who recently stepped down as the IMF's chief economist, emphasized that a US-Israeli military operation against the Islamic Republic could spark an "energy crisis of unprecedented proportions."

The Houston meeting is being held as part of the US G20 presidency this year. These deliberations will culminate in the G20 summit scheduled for December 14-15 in Doral, near Miami, Florida.