It’s true, US sanctions on key players in the NS2 pipeline won‘t change a lot.
Sanctions by Germany against putting the pipeline into operation are much more effective.
> “The fact is that gas is not currently flowing through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which means that it’s not operating, which means that it’s not leverage for Putin,” he said.
>“Indeed, it is leverage for the West, because if Vladimir Putin wants to see gas flow through that pipeline, he may not want to take the risk of invading Ukraine.”
But they can change what he can do, by making sure his aggression is not sponsored by Germany.
What people don’t get is that Nord Stream 2 is not designed to send additional gas to Europe. It is designed to provide alternative routes. Even if NS2 gets banned today, Russia will still be sending the same amount of gas to Europe regardless.
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Hard facts about energy policy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/nixon-shock
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-05-30/the-untold-story-behind-saudi-arabia-s-41-year-u-s-debt-secret
It’s true, US sanctions on key players in the NS2 pipeline won‘t change a lot.
Sanctions by Germany against putting the pipeline into operation are much more effective.
> “The fact is that gas is not currently flowing through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which means that it’s not operating, which means that it’s not leverage for Putin,” he said.
>“Indeed, it is leverage for the West, because if Vladimir Putin wants to see gas flow through that pipeline, he may not want to take the risk of invading Ukraine.”
But they can change what he can do, by making sure his aggression is not sponsored by Germany.
What people don’t get is that Nord Stream 2 is not designed to send additional gas to Europe. It is designed to provide alternative routes. Even if NS2 gets banned today, Russia will still be sending the same amount of gas to Europe regardless.