Is America using the Nord Stream-2 Gas Pipeline as a target for its hostility toward Russia? […]
An article from late June in the Russian language business-oriented newspaper Kommersant reviewed the current bidding, noting that the Congress could be close to passing a law entitled “Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019.” According to this article, “In fact, the legislation is aimed against ‘Nord Stream-2’ and ‘Turkish Stream’ [Фактически законопроект направлен против проектов ‘Северный поток-2’ и ‘Турецкий поток’].” With some evident relief, the article notes that the “law is not likely to directly influence the building of the gas pipeline” under the Baltic, and that line is expected in this analysis to be completed in November 2019. Likewise, the “Turkish Stream” pipe is already laid across the Black Sea, so its completion will not be blocked by U.S. legislation, according to this report.
The fate of the Baltic route apparently depends to a high degree on the Swiss firm Allseas. The Kommersant article observes that the Swiss company does not have major projects in the United States. Another analysis in the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazetaagrees, contending that Allseas is a “family business” and, furthermore, that its “orders with Gazprom are very important to the business [заказы ‘Газпрома’ для нее очень важны].”
The second analysis explains that the pipe is now being laid in Finnish waters, and that such underwater work is 60 percent complete. […]
Instead of Americans trying every form of stunt to decouple Russia from Europe, they should alternatively strive for enhanced interdependence and an inclusive European security architecture that offers Moscow a seat at the table. It is not all that far-fetched as the recent news regarding Russia’s reinstated voting rights at the Council of Europe suggest. Positive movement on the delicate issue of Ukraine can help along the process of reconciliation, moreover. Russia’s early 2019 agreement to enable German and French experts to monitor the Kerch Strait is certainly a move in the right direction. Läs artikel