gas can become a political instrument for the Russian Federation
Russia is close to using natural gas as a political tool if it really offers to increase its exports to Europe, Amos Hoshtein, the US presidential adviser on global energy security, said on Monday.
“We are approaching this point if Russia does have gas to supply, but it starts to be supplied, provided that it is not related to these requirements,” said Emos Hoshn. According to him, the sharp rise in prices for natural gas in Europe is caused not only by specific conditions for Europe, but also by a sharp increase in electricity consumption at hydroelectric power plants due to drought. In this situation, it can increase the supply of gas through the amplifier gas pipelines, insists the adviser to the President of the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia is ready to increase natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. However, the operation of the gas pipeline can begin only after its certification by the specialized structures of the European Union. This process can take about six months. Europe should not refuse in a situation where it will have to lift the restriction, neglect legal procedures for the sake of resolving the crisis, let us resolve the ban indicated by Emos Hoshtein.
The price of natural gas in Europe for a year is six times. The main reason is the large volumes of liquefied gas in China, where large volumes of liquefied gas exported from the United States are directed. Russia is the largest natural gas supplier to Europe. It accounts for about 35 percent of the natural gas consumed on the continent.