Dear Editor,
There is a price gap in the oil market. Purchasing Russian oil for local consumption, while selling ours is profitable and a humanitarian endeavour. Western sanctions have capped the price of Russian oil, but they have also allowed for some allies to purchase above the price cap. The resulting deals have been done below the market price. Japan is an example of this. Unless the current administration has taken a position that prevents the government from dealing with Russia during the war with Ukraine, it would be in the best interest of our citizens and the vulnerable citizens in Russia for our country to consume Russian oil while selling ours on the open market at the higher market prices.
Innocent Russian citizens should also be allowed to live. We know what sanctions can do to the vulnerable within a country. The rampant poverty in Guyana is a result of the extensive sanctions that were placed on our country during President Burnham’s dictatorship. We are still digging ourselves out of his ineffective nationalist policies.
It is our Government’s duty to reduce the cost of living for our citizens, while also pursuing opportunities to maximize the profits that can be gained for our goods. Therefore, we should make the most of the price gap in the market by purchasing the cheaper Russian oil for local consumption.
Even though we do not agree with the use of force to settle territorial disputes, our comrades from the former USSR have always been to our aid when times were difficult and when we were also sanctioned and embargoed. The internal conflict of the former USSR affects our friends on both sides, but innocent citizens should not bear the brunt of the suffering. Instead of selling arms and punishing the innocent with ineffective punitive sanctions, it would be best for all the parties involved to negotiate a ceasefire with the UN Security Council as the arbitrator. This should then be followed by the establishment of a peace treaty that will ensure no future conflict between the brothers of the former USSR.
Sincerely,
Jamil Changlee
Chairman
The Cooperative
Republicans of
Guyana
