For years, Russia has sought to keep Europe dependent on its exports of energy, especially through natural gas pipelines. But Moscow is also desperate to cut out potentially meddlesome middlemen, like Ukraine, which sits smack between Russia’s natural gas fields and millions of European consumers. That gives Kiev the ability to interrupt Russian gas flows headed to Europe, infuriating Moscow, but also earns Ukraine billions of dollars in much-needed transit fees.
But so far the success has been limited with Gazprom, time and again, launching very large, very capital-intensive infrastructure projects with little to show for it. And to make matters worse, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection last month determined that Nord Stream 2 — which wouldn’t even touch Polish territory — could harm consumers.
What does the latest twist in the story mean for Gazprom? Foreign Policy Magazine spoke about the matter with Sijbren de Jong. The full article can be read here.
Photo credit: Thawt Hawthje via Foter.com / CC BY
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