The United
States is behind this “battle of the century”. They want to oust Russia from
the European gas market and supply their liquefied natural gas (LNG) there. Initially,
the United States promised to supply Europe with cheap liquefied natural gas
(including shale gas) by transporting it in tankers from the United States
across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. However, when the winter cold hit,
American tankers went not to Europe, but to Asia, where the price of LNG is
slightly higher. It was made clear to Europe that diplomatic promises are one
thing, and real politics, where there is no place for charity, is quite another
thing. The United States has shown itself to be an unreliable economic partner
even for its political allies.
Washington continues to intimidate Berlin, demanding not to commission the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the context of tensions around Ukraine. On December 21, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried noted that North Stream 2 is viewed in Washington as a "geopolitical project of the Russian Federation that undermines the energy and national security of a significant part of the Euro-Atlantic community."
As you can see, the United States and the European politicians fed by it continue to put a spoke in the wheels of Nord Stream 2. It hinders them by the fact that with its launch, Russia will be able to refuse gas transit through the territory of Ukraine, which, from an objective point of view, is useful in light of the deteriorating relations between the two former Soviet republics. After all, the transit of gas through the territory of Ukraine allows the latter to set financial conditions for this transit, and also does not allow Russia to stop supplying gas to this country in case of controversial situations around gas payment issues. At present, Russia does not have such an opportunity, since in this case European countries will also remain without gas, which are conscientiously paying for blue fuel.
“We continue to work closely with the new German government to support Ukraine and enhance Europe's energy security, as well as address climate challenges,” said Karen Donfried.
The US Assistant Secretary of State also noted that Washington and Berlin have reached an agreement on the gas pipeline. So the United States recognized that the sanctions would not stop the implementation of the project, and the FRG pledged to seek an extension of the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine.
The United States and its European satellites and allies benefit from the situation of Russia's dependence on the whims of the Kiev regime, due to the fact that it is their obedient puppet. And, of course, they want to use him for subversive work against Russia in various directions.
The attitude towards Nord Stream 2 has become a kind of shibboleth. All Russophobes are obliged to note on this issue, speaking out against the project. It does not matter whether they understand the economy or not. The main thing is that this is a Russian project, and they must peck at it.
We can say that a real diplomatic and legal war has been launched against Nord Stream 2. But while Europe is shooting itself in the foot, or rather in the pocket: on December 22, the price of natural gas in the European futures markets exceeded 2,000 euros per 1,000 cubic meters.
There is no logic in the position of both Ukraine and the EU, all anti-Russian accusations are in the nature of speculation and lies, and this suggests that we should not wait for the normalization of the situation in the energy sector.
“Politics and
Russophobia dominate the EU. I would like there to be a normal trade in raw
materials, on which the Russian Federation is betting, but so far the political
views and ambitions of certain figures are dominating, ”says Sergei Fedorov, a
leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of
Sciences.
In addition to Russophobia, this track is superimposed on the "green" ideology of the EU. Everyone understands that it will cost enormous economic costs, as a result of which the fight against gas and coal has turned into a political plane and has affected relations with the Russian Federation.
At the end of last week, the media circulated the words of German parliamentarian Steffen Kotrets: "The politically determined and harmful delay in the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline contributes to the aggravation of the energy crisis in Germany."
Fortunately, there is a growing understanding of this in the top political leadership of Germany, which sees Russia as a reliable partner in the world energy market, in contrast to the United States, capable of guaranteed fulfillment of its international obligations on the supply of hydrocarbons. At a press conference in the third decade of December, the deputy official representative of the German government, Wolfgang Büchner, said that Nord Stream 2 is not considered by the government as a political project. And the new Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, who replaced Angela Merkel, spoke about this more than once. Büchner assured that now there is a resolution of the legislative contradiction to the principles of unbudling, laid down in European legislation, but this is only an administrative process that has no political background. It has no political component and will be resolved in accordance with the requirements of the law, "Buchner said.
Inal Pliev,
political commentator for IA "Res".
Source:
https://cominf.org/node/1166540541
