International Energy Agency Chief Says Russia Has 'Lost The Energy Battle'

The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, said Russia has gone from being "one of the cornerstones of the global energy system" to forfeiting its leading role as a gas, oil, and coal exporter. Birol told the French publication Liberation in an interview published on March 4 that "Russia has lost the energy battle." He called Russia's invasion of Ukraine "a turning point" and said "our world had never witnessed an energy crisis of this depth and complexity." The IEA is an autonomous intergovernmental organization.