A political catastrophe or sanctions for the sake of sanctions – this is the choice of the United States in its desire to prevent the implementation of the Nord Stream-2 project.
This was told by energy expert Mateusz Kubiak in a commentary for Polish Radio.
According to him, Russia has everything necessary to complete the gas pipeline. At her disposal is the Akademik Chersky pipe-laying machine, as well as qualified specialists. Against this background, it remains to state that the sanctions adopted by the US administration last year have lost their meaning. Now the United States remains the last option of punitive measures. They should fall upon the investors of the project, as well as those who will buy Russian gas supplied through Nord Stream-2.
However, the implementation of such a plan, Kubyak explains, will entail serious political consequences, because it will hurt the interests of major European companies.
“It is difficult to believe that such sanctions will indeed be approved, and quickly”, – the expert notes.
He also drew attention to the second option of a possible sanction strike. We are talking about restrictions against Gazprom. This option will require a new legislative initiative, moreover, it is simpler. True, the appropriateness of such a step is doubtful.
“It is clear that from a political point of view, it will be easier to implement such sanctions, because this is a local blow. For example, they can be applied to specialists. Only the question of the effectiveness of these measures remains open”, – Kubyak continues.
The expert acknowledged that Russia has access to a huge number of specialists, because the country cooperates with companies around the world. Thus, any point strike can only slow down the construction. This is the maximum worth counting on. At the same time, radical sanctions will have a negative effect on transatlantic cooperation.