EU chief says Russia attempting to 'rewrite rules of international order'

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday accused Russia of attempting to “rewrite the rules of the international order.”

"We're facing a blatant attempt to rewrite the rules of the international order. One only has to read the recent communique issued by Russian and Chinese leaders. They seek a new era as they say to replace the existing international rules," Von der Leyen said in her speech at the Munich Security Conference.

“They prefer the rule of the strongest to the rule of law, intimidation instead of self-determination, coercion instead of cooperation,” she added.

Von der Leyen accused the Kremlin of “trying to undermine the European security architecture.”

She warned that if Russia would attack the Ukraine, the EU would be ready to impose high costs and severe consequences on Russia’s economic interests.

The EU Commission chief also said the European Union is fully prepared in the event of a stop to Russian gas supplies.

"Today I can tell you that - even if Russia completely disrupts the gas supply - we are on the safe side this winter," she added.

At the same time, von der Leyen made allegations against the Russian gas company Gazprom. "Gazprom is consciously trying to store and deliver as little as possible while prices and demand are skyrocketing," she added.

In the EU, there have been fears for weeks that the current conflict with Russia could lead to an interruption in gas supplies.

According to the commission, until recently, the EU covered almost a quarter (24%) of its energy requirements with gas, of which 90% was imported. Some 40% of the imports came from Gazprom.