What Can Be Done about A Jet Fuel Crisis?

Conex Energy, Inc., the major supplier of jet fuel in Liberia, announced last week that there is a serious jet fuel shortage in the region, due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.  This will terribly affect air travel into and out of Liberia.

Russia is among the world’s leading petroleum suppliers. So the blame for this crisis clearly falls at the feet of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who for reasons no one can understand, recently attacked his innocent and smaller neighbor, Ukraine.

This has caused a major petroleum crisis in many parts of the world, primarily those countries that depend on Ukraine for the supply of petroleum.  What can the world do about this?

In an earlier Editorial, the Daily Observer newspaper called on the international community, particularly the United Nations, the European Union and some of the world’s powerful and influential nations, to intervene in order to prevent these two nations from going to war.  Heaven knows that the world does not need another war.  

The United Nations, particularly the Security Council, backed by its influential members, especially the United States, Britain, France and the People’s Republic of China, can definitely help.  Germany, too, which has very good relations with Russia, can also assist in preventing another totally unnecessary conflict.  All she has to do is to persuade her friend, Mr. Putin, to exercise restraint, just for the sake of peace.

We call on Mr. Putin to do nothing to escalate the tension.  

It is also incumbent upon the bigger and    more powerful nations to help maintain   global peace and security.  This task falls not on the United Nations and its Security Council alone, but on all nations, especially the powerful and influential ones.  They must all begin to engage in shuttle diplomacy and undertake quiet and discreet visits to both nations to talk peace.

They should not wait for war to break out before acting.  As the world has known time and time again, it is easier and far less costly to prevent conflict than to deal with the terror and devastation that conflict causes.  We in Liberia know this only too well.  See how war almost totally destroyed our country and much of its already fragile infrastructure.  It has taken us many years, a lot of international goodwill and money to rebuild.  And we are far, far from complete.  

What, we ask again, can the world do about the jet fuel crisis?  The world, especially the big powers, must do all they can to help prevent Russia and Ukraine from sliding further into war.  The consequences of that will not affect Russia and Ukraine alone, but many other countries, especially those that depend on them, Ukraine in particular, for petroleum.   

Conex, the Liberian petroleum supplier, has already warned of the jet fuel crisis facing the world, because of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.    

The world must work conscientiously and diligently to forestall this conflict in order to prevent a catastrophe that will affect not these two countries alone, but many others.

As we have said many times before, Heaven knows that the world does not need another war.  The UN and all the big powers must do all they can to prevent it.