Dmitry Medvedev: Europe Will Pay Euro2,000 for 1,000 m3 gas
By The Messenger Staff
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council and former president, says that after the suspension of the Nord Stream 2 project, Europe will pay 2,000 euros for 1,000 cubic meters of gas. He writes about it on Twitter.
"What are we going to do? Welcome to a new world in which Europeans will soon pay 2,000 euros for 1,000 cubic meters of gas," Medvedev wrote.
On February 21, Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of occupied Donetsk and Lugansk. Within hours, he ordered troops to enter Donbas. An order signed by the Russian president says troops are being deployed "for the sake of peace."
In response to Russia, Germany suspended the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Nord Stream 2 is a 1,200-kilometer pipeline that runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea and aims to supply natural gas from Russia to Germany.
It was planned that Germany would receive 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia through the pipeline. The cost of the project is 10 billion euros. Its construction was completed in September 2021 and the pipes were also filled with gas in October.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel worked hard for the Nord Stream 2 project. 35% of Germany's gas supply is already occupied by Russian natural gas. Merkel hoped that this pipeline would make it easier to get gas from Russia directly to Germany.
North Stream 2 project was opposed by Ukraine, on whose territory one of the main natural gas importers to Europe used to pass. Volodymyr Zelensky called it a ‘dangerous political weapon.’ The project also threatens the interests of Poland.
In addition, the North Stream 2 project raises fears that EU countries, and especially Germany, will become energy-dependent on Russia. It is for this reason that the US and the UK oppose the Nord Stream 2 project.
In July 2021, Germany and the United States reached an agreement that the United States would allow the pipeline to be built without imposing additional sanctions, and in return, Germany would extend its natural gas transit contract with Russia and Ukraine for another 10 years. The document expires in 2024.
In November 2021, the U.S. imposed sanctions on North Stream 2.
The issue of tightening sanctions on the Nord Stream project has intensified since Russia deployed more than 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border.
