VLADIVOSTOK, September 12 — Asian countries resisted Western pressure over energy purchases from Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, according to the statement published by the state news agency. Zakharova said the region’s largest and most diverse countries made what she described as a truly well-considered decision, grounded in what she called the wisdom, foundation, and knowledge of historical experience and its value.
That decision, she said, prevented a number of Western countries and institutions from having a destabilizing influence on their energy policies.
The February–March argument
According to Zakharova, the events of February and March 2026 and what followed became a gift to those who argued that energy cooperation should not become a battleground for political disputes or contests. The record shows she framed those events as providing an argument in favor of that position. She said energy cooperation is so important that it is not so much irreplaceable as something that should not be destabilized, because it affects every area of life and should therefore be kept out of political games.
Zakharova acknowledged there is an understanding of the connection between politics, the economy, and energy. But she said the issue is different.
It is not the connection between politics, the economy, energy, and other areas, she said, but political games.
What she says the goal is
She said the goal in such cases is not to protect markets or promote goods but to sort things out through what she called unlawful, ineffective, and foolish steps. She added that the situation is obvious. This will lead to destabilization that will affect literally everything, she said, and the consequences will be difficult to fully assess.
An immediate benefit and the circumstances of the moment can influence tomorrow’s stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange, she said, depending, as many believe, on who is behind it. That, she said, can create a situation where one can not only take a risk but also, to use modern language, step on the gas all the way.
Well, they stepped on the gas, she said. The Eastern Economic Forum is a major international gathering held in Vladivostok, focused on economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Zakharova has served as the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
What to watch next is whether Asian buyers alter their purchasing patterns in response to continued Western pressure, and whether Moscow’s read of their position holds through the coming months.
