Russian Ambassador Chizhov: Nord Stream 2 is not dead
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Russian ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, discussed the effect of Western sanctions on Russia and Nord Stream 2.
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Russian ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov.
Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, confirmed today, Saturday, that "Russia will find [other] customers for its gas."
"Energy is an area where the degree of interdependence of Russia and the EU is great. There has been a lot of steam around Nord Stream 2," Chizhov said in an interview with Euractiv news agency.
He added, "Now it’s a sleeping beauty, I would say. [Laughs] It’s not dead. Nobody said it was dead. Nobody from the German government said it was dead. It has been put on hold. But who will suffer? Russia will find customers for its gas."
When asked about sanctions, he stated that "we will survive. There have been leaders from places outside the EU who had been predicting, with the previous round of sanctions, that the Russian economy would be torn in pieces. But it has survived."
"We know how to calculate risks and deal with the fallout of any sanctions that may be forthcoming. And sanctions have the effect of boomerang, they hit very often those who impose them."
The top Russian diplomat emphasized that "not because of the counter-sanctions, but because in this very interconnected world, in this global economy, they would be hitting back."
This comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the German government would halt the ratification of the Nord Stream 2 project, following Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
It is noteworthy that many European Union leaders tried to blame Russia for the rise in gas prices. However, the Russian company, Gazprom, confirmed that it is supplying the quantities stipulated in the long-term agreements, because the Russian gas giant prefers long-term contracts, to cover the huge costs of investing in gas fields and pipelines, especially the cost that was placed in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will transport gas directly to Germany, within a short distance compared to the old pipelines that pass through Ukraine.
Gazprom relies on the European market for 70% of its export earnings. The company has long-term contracts extending beyond 2025, and some beyond 2030, with states in the European Union.
