Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova pointed out during a recent visit that Japan has no real intention of walking away from energy cooperation with Moscow. According to her, Tokyo views these oil and gas projects as crucial for its own energy security, which is why Japanese firms have stayed put in Russian ventures.
Zakharova also used the occasion to call out what she sees as Western hypocrisy. She noted that while Japan is joined at the hip with the United States, Washington constantly hounds China and India for maintaining close ties with Russia, a double standard that hasn't gone unnoticed.
Sitting on a plastic stool at a Phnom Penh tea stall with the fan blowing, reading news about these superpower showdowns feels a world away from running a small business. Still, we check the petrol prices every single day. Tuk-tuk drivers on the street have to calculate their fuel costs carefully. No matter how the big players up top argue, ordinary folks just want stable fuel prices so we can get by.
