On June 30, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of Germany from 1997 to 2005, will be appointed to the board of directors of the national gas distribution company Gazprom. A minimal detail, as the Social Democrats have taken the presidency of the energy company Rosneft (also a Russian) and are on the board of directors of Nord Stream AG and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, however, it has taken a What happened before, during and after the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, a special dimension.
Schroeder has Especially criticized in his country Because he famously said that Vladimir Putin “is an impeccable democrat.” What’s more, when he left the Chancellery, he signed with Rosneft and demonstrated the personal friendship that united him and still unites him with the current Russian president.
The latest move on his CV has only made his image in Germany more uneasy, with many political voices pointing out that “his actions have damaged the country”. Something isn’t quite right, but it’s far from wrong.
along with North Stream 2 Freeze While a German court ruled that gas pipelines cannot be owned by the same company that produces the gas, Schroeder’s signing with Gazprom’s board was nothing more than a warning to navigators: Putin hasn’t changed his plans The plan means that 40 percent of the natural gas that reaches Germany from Russia via Ukraine could stop arriving at any time.
NordStream 2 staff.
Thomson Reuters
weapons and gases
Christoph Heusgen, the new chairman of the Munich Security Conference – which has been taking place since 1963 and has largely marked German foreign policy – insists that many have given Germany’s new chancellor Asked: His country provides Ukraine with weapons so that it can defend against a possible Russian invasion attempt.and National policy not to sell arms in conflict zones Moreover, it collided head-on with the country’s pacifist spirit due to painful memories of World War II.
However, Olaf Schultz will have to reconsider his position on the matter.not because of emmanuel Macron is trying to take away Angela Merkel’s European leadership His exit left a vacancy, but as Vladimir Putin used the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics to Xi Jinping This further threatens the flow of natural gas to Berlin.
An agreement was announced on the same Friday under which Russia will supply China with natural gas for the next 30 years through a new gas pipeline apparently managed by Gazprom.It will take another two or three years for the new channel to start operating, but 10 million cubic meters will be provided to China initially In addition to the annual export of 16.5 million cubic meters of natural gas through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline
euro transaction
The contract, announced by Gazprom and supposed to have been negotiated over the past few years, aims to supply up to 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China by 2025, in euros, as the two sides try to “diversify against the dollar, ” according to a statement from Gazprom.In addition, it will be part of China’s national decarbonization strategy to be completed by 2060 as planned by the Xi Jinping government, as ‘Last year’s coal shortage has sounded the alarm’ Official sources confirmed that China.
Meanwhile, Rosneft, chaired by Schroeder and one of Putin’s biggest allies, Igor Sechin, extended an agreement with China’s state-owned oil company PetroChina to supply them with 100 million tonnes of oil. Crude oil passing through Kazakhstan over the next 10 years is worth 80 billion euros.
Both deals sent the value of the ruble, Russian markets and, of course, Rosneft and Gazprom shares soaring.
In any case, none of this would matter if it wasn’t for the fact that it represented an additional step in Russia and China’s alignment with the West, and was constructed in the midst of a crisis.in Ukraine, thereBoth countries agree they should not allow NATO expansion towards their territory. In fact, Putin and Xi signed a joint statement in which they affirmed that “there are no restricted or ‘prohibited’ areas of cooperation in friendship between the two countries,” referring to climate change, artificial intelligence, the Internet or space expansion. .
Also, if anyone had any doubts about what they were really talking about, both presidents declared Their alliance “is superior to any political or military alliance of the Cold War era”. They go further. In a 5,400-word joint statement in English, Putin stressed all support from Mother Russia to its partner, that Taiwan is an integral part of China, and opposed any possible independence if China supported Russia on Ukraine and NATO. Likewise, views were expressed on the AUKUS scheme developed by Australia, the UK and the US, which they interpreted as more than a potential threat.
The U.S. response was lukewarm, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki saying Joe Biden ‘has his own relationship with China’although it left a warning to navigators: “We also communicated that a conflict that could destabilize Europe would affect China’s interests globally.”
no German response
Olaf Scholz intends to travel to Kiev and Moscow in the coming days to continue diplomatic cooperation with the Kremlin. First out of belief, second out of self-interest, in the case of gas, Putin is tying Berlin to de-escalation outside of negotiations. But nonetheless, Russia is Europe’s largest natural gas supplier And the conflict in Ukraine, with the deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers, led to a surge in gas prices and stifled its arrival through Ukraine.
True, neither the Power of Siberia pipeline nor the new pipeline linking Sakhalin with Beijing will share the gas route to Europe, but that does not detract from the slightest danger in the new contract that Putin and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing this Friday. Closing, this gives Russia the key to all the heating we enjoy in Europe. This is a real threat. very real.