Ukraine: Total CEO Responds To Jadot, Holds Up Photo Of Employees Turned Soldiers – The HuffPost

RTLThe boss of Total responds to Jadot and shows a photo of employees committed to UkrainePOLITICS – The CEO of TotalEnergies is “angry” with those who criticize the company’s continued existence in Russia, and in particular with Yannick Jadot. The environmental candidate is among the most critical of the French energy giant and its activities in Russia. He had thus regularly reprimanded the company, judging it Total as an “accomplice” in “war crimes” against Ukraine. What provoke the indignation of Patrick Pouyanné. “Mr. Jadot accuses the 100,000 Total employees of complicity in war crimes. It’s very serious, it’s an insult,” said the CEO of the energy giant on RTL this Wednesday, March 23. To prove his company’s commitment, he presented the photo of two Ukrainian soldiers, who were, before the start of the war, employees of Total. “These are the two heroes of our company today”, assures Patrick Poyanné. Before adding, scathingly: “Mr. Jadot spends his time speaking ill of my company. It lowers him in the polls. He better get on with his campaign and stop insulting us.” On March 11 in Bordeaux, Yannick Jadot castigated in front of journalists the maintenance of the activities of the French company in Russia. “It’s a shame, it’s a shame for our country that a large national group is complicit in war crimes. So I’m asking the President of the Republic to force Total to withdraw from Russia,” he claimed. He calls not only for the cessation of oil, but also gas activities. “We cannot replace governments” On March 22, Patrick Pouyanné announced the end of the purchase of Russian oil by the end of 2022. A “strong decision” which he explains having taken responsibility and not under “pressure”. “You can’t make hasty decisions without knowing what the consequences are. For us, the question was whether we could replace this Russian oil”, detailed the leader. A fallback solution could be found with the German government – one of the beneficiaries of Russian imports – but also for France “which imports 30% of its diesel from Russia”. “We will take the Saudi diesel to send it to France rather than to Asia”, explains Patrick Pouyanné. But he adds: “If yesterday I announced on oil, it is because I know how to replace it. Gas, I don’t know how to do it”. “I have 25-year contracts and I don’t know how to get out of these contracts. (…) If I stop Russian gas, I pay billions immediately to the Russians”, he indicated. “Without Russian gas, we shut down part of the European economy. And I’m going to decide on my own because I’m the CEO of a large group?” asks Patrick Pouyanné. “We, the company TotalEnergies, cannot replace governments when we talk about energy supply.” The question of an embargo on Russian gas and oil has been raised many times by leaders since the beginning of the Russian invasion. However, no compromise has been found at this stage. Summits of NATO, the G7 and the European Union will follow one another from Thursday, with the question of energy sovereignty at the heart of the discussions. Joe Biden, who will participate, should “announce joint action to strengthen Europe’s energy security” and reduce its dependence on Russian gas, according to his national security adviser Jake Sullivan. See also on The HuffPost: Leroy Merlin bombarded in kyiv, this Ukrainian deputy challenges the group’s management