Energy Policy News
  • Latest
  • Archives
  • Data
  • Webinar
  • Index
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Log In
No Result
View All Results
  • Natural Gas
  • Oil
  • Power
  • Security
  • Sustainability
Energy Policy News
  • Latest
  • Archives
  • Data
  • Webinar
  • Index
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Log In
No Result
View All Results
Energy Policy News
No Result
View All Results

Nord Stream 2 is put on hold as West rebukes Putin over Ukraine

Nord Stream 2 is a priority project for Putin

Bloomberg News by Bloomberg News
February 22, 2022
in Natural Gas
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare by Email

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. and Europe unveiled a limited range of sanctions in response to Russia’s latest escalation over Ukraine, with Germany going the furthest by opting to halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline’s certification process following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops to two self-proclaimed separatist republics.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who held a call with Putin late on Monday, said that the Russian leader’s recognition of the breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine had materially changed the situation so that “no certification of the pipeline can happen right now.” Without it, he told reporters in Berlin, the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany “cannot go into operation.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki welcomed the decision, saying that the U.S. would follow up with its own measures later on Tuesday. Still, halting the pipeline looks like the most significant response of an initial wave of penalties that stopped short of more painful measures.

Nord Stream 2 is a priority project for Putin that he has personally pushed from its inception. The decision to put it into limbo demonstrates Germany’s determination to shoulder the economic cost of holding Putin to account for his actions, which effectively tear up years of diplomatic efforts spearheaded by Berlin to bring peace to eastern Ukraine.

European natural gas prices resumed their advance and benchmark Brent crude oil was up about 2% after Scholz spoke. Markets were more sanguine about the other measures, with Russia’s benchmark MOEX index paring a steep decline to trade about 1.9% lower and the ruble up 0.7% as of about 2:30 p.m. in Berlin.

Russia gave no details on how many “peacekeeping” troops might go into the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The U.S. and its allies continue to warn Moscow could soon start a full-scale invasion, something that Russia denies. Treaties Putin signed with separatist leaders Monday allow Russia to deploy forces and build military bases on their territory.

The Kremlin move raised the stakes with the West but so far falls short of the massive invasion of large areas of Ukrainian territory that U.S. and other officials have said is possible.

At the same time, more than 150,000 Russian troops remain massed near Ukraine’s borders, according to Western estimates. A senior U.S. official said Russia is continuing to prepare for military action that could occur in the coming hours or days. A key unknown is whether Russian “peacekeepers” would stop at the line of contact between separatists and the Ukrainian military.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, maintained ambiguity, saying that Russia recognizes the separatists’ “declared” borders. The breakaway areas control only 30% of the territory that used to be part of the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts in Ukraine. The Kremlin wants to continue talks with Western countries, Peskov told reporters on a conference call Tuesday.

“Russia won’t calm down,” said Alexei Chesnakov, a former senior Kremlin official and adviser on Ukrainian policy. “It wants iron-clad guarantees that Ukraine won’t join NATO and as long as it doesn’t get these guarantees, the possibility of escalation will remain permanently on the table.”

President Joe Biden issued an executive order prohibiting U.S. investment, trade, and financing to separatist regions of Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. would target five banks — all of them already subject to U.S. sanctions — and freeze the assets of three individuals.

The European Union is looking at more sweeping measures that include restrictions on Russian government access to EU capital and financial markets and services, although the process will need to be confirmed by member states.

For the moment, western officials indicated that Russia’s recognition wasn’t a dramatic enough step to prompt the severe economic sanctions threatened in case of a full-scale invasion.

Russia Recognizes Separatist Regions

“It’s not yet the invasion our partners have been talking about,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Paris. “But it’s a very steep escalation of the situation.”

Russian legislators voted on Tuesday to ratify the treaties with the separatists, opening the way for more open support for the enclaves Russia’s backed since their foundation. Putin’s decision to recognize them effectively torpedoes years of diplomatic efforts to implement a peace accord to resolve a conflict that has killed 14,000 since Russia-backed separatists seized control of the two areas in 2014.

Russia’s latest move generated condemnation from the U.S., EU and nearly all representatives of the United Nations Security Council who spoke on Monday night. China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, called on all sides to exercise restraint.

The U.S. said the White House was still open to a meeting between Biden and Putin — predicated on Russia not proceeding with an attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva Thursday to discuss the crisis.

Russia doesn’t currently plan any military deployment beyond the existing borders of Ukrainian breakaway areas it’s recognized, according to a political expert close to the Kremlin.

“The crisis can still be resolved,” said Alexei Mukhin, head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Information, which provides consultancy services for the presidential administration. Russia’s demands for a halt to NATO expansion and a pullback of the alliance from eastern and central Europe are just a starting-point for negotiations on security guarantees in the region, he said.

Tags: 3385Bidennatural gasNord StreamPutinUkraine
Previous Post

NextEra rethinks Mountain Valley Pipeline, takes $800 million charge

Next Post

Supreme Court denies Dakota pipeline appeal

Related Posts

FERC logo
Natural Gas

FERC Friday Update: July 1, 2022

July 1, 2022
Office of Energy Projects Infrastructure Update April 2020
Natural Gas

FERC fines Salem Harbor $17M for capacity market fraud

June 29, 2022
LNG liquefied natural gas
Natural Gas

G-7 leaders favor LNG investment in U-turn due to energy crisis

June 29, 2022
Next Post
Dakota Access asks high court to intervene on controversial pipeline

Supreme Court denies Dakota pipeline appeal

Report No. 3403

FERC Friday Update: July 1, 2022

Energy Policy News says farewell

Environmental groups protest Southwest Power Pool’s renewables accreditation

6GW of offshore wind planned with more on the way

Supreme Court curbs EPA’s climate authority in blow to Biden

Offshore wind goals depend on domestic supply

FERC fines Salem Harbor $17M for capacity market fraud

G-7 leaders favor LNG investment in U-turn due to energy crisis

DC circuit court upholds Mountain Valley Southgate expansion

Natural gas industry supports NOPR to streamline rate filings

MVP requests extra time to complete project

FERC issues final EIS for Golden Pass project

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Terms
  • ADA Compliance
  • Help Center

 Manage Cookie Consent

Follow Us

© 2022 Royal Media - Energy Policy News, formerly Foster Energy Report

No Result
View All Results
  • Latest
  • Archives
  • Data
  • Webinars
  • Index
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Login

© 2022 Royal Media - Energy Policy News, formerly Foster Energy Report

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Effective July 1, 2022 Energy Policy News will be discontinued.

After a year of guiding readers to better understanding and awareness around the key policy issues that can make or break energy projects and growth initiatives, we made the difficult decision to shut down our publication.

We are proud of the remarkable coverage provided by our team and want to thank all our customers for your support over the past year.

Sincerely,
The Energy Policy News Team

THIS WEBSITE USES COOKIES

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “I CONSENT”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.

Cookie settingsI CONSENT

Review our Cookie Policies
.
Manage Cookie Consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
34f6831605sessionGeneral purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written in JSP. Usually used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server.
a64cedc0bfsessionGeneral purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written in JSP. Usually used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
crmcsrsessionGeneral purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written in JSP. Usually used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server.
JSESSIONIDsessionThe JSESSIONID cookie is used by New Relic to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application.
LS_CSRF_TOKENsessionCloudflare sets this cookie to track users’ activities across multiple websites. It expires once the browser is closed.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
663a60c55dsessionThis cookie is related to Zoho (Customer Service) Chatbox
e188bc05fesessionThis cookie is set in relation to Zoho Campaigns
iamcsrsessionZoho (Customer Support) sets this cookie and is used for tracking visitors (for performance purposes)
_zcsr_tmpsessionZoho sets this cookie for the login function on the website.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_84821447_11 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
663a60c55dsessionThis cookie is related to Zoho (Customer Service) Chatbox
Save & Accept
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Go to mobile version