Reuters OLIVER DENZER
Under the above heading, Sofia Smirnova wrote, in “Izvestia”, about the fate of the “Northern Torrent-2” gas pipeline against the backdrop of American pressure, and after “the overflow of Kiel” “Gazprom”.
The article states: The Russian-German project “Northern Torrent-2” has been one of the main news stories over the past two years. On January 19, 2021, “Gazprom” spoke for the first time about a possible suspension or even termination of the project.
In regard, the analyst said in SoftLinkDmitry Lukachev, the problems of the “Northern Stream” lines are the same: “The scheme of action itself is similar: very long coordination and rapid construction upon reaching agreements.”
Negotiations over the construction of the northern torrent began in the year 2000. It took about 10 years to reach an agreement with all European partners and organizations; The first line was commissioned in November 2011, and the second, in October 2012. According to Lukachev, “the construction itself was swift and efficient: this is evidenced by the absence of accidents over the 8 years of the pipeline’s full operation.”
“Northern Torrent-2” was officially discussed for the first time in 2012; Construction began in 2018, meaning that the approval process took only six years, which is less than the first case.
“The announcement of a possible suspension, an emergency action on the part of Gazprom. The United States is threatening to impose more sanctions on European companies cooperating with Gazprom. Almost all of them have stopped work on laying gas pipelines and other activities within the framework of this project,” Lukachev added. “Gazprom’s position is completely logical. The Russian company should not assume all risks of Northern Torrent-2.”
“European consumers should not hide their interest in Russian gas, and participate more actively in negotiations with the United States to lift sanctions. It will not be easy: the Americans do not intend to back down from their plans to supply LNG to Europe.”
The article expresses only the opinion of the newspaper or writer
