Without the EU, Russia remains hanging on the gas pipeline that does not exist with China

One of the proofs that Vladimir Putin had not taken into account the ability of Europe to oppose its act of bullying against Ukraine is the way it made Russia lose the main market for its natural gas, without even securing the construction of gas pipelines to direct the exports to Asia. Last year, Gazprom’s net profit plummeted by 41 percent, pipeline exports by 55 percent, overall exports by 25 percent, shrinking to 185 billion cubic meters (bcm). A situation destined to deteriorate, but for Moscow the worst news is another one. Last week the Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin he returned from his mission to China without the Chinese commitment to build the Power of Siberia 2, a gas pipeline conceived more than a decade ago to help Russia “turn its gaze to the east”. This pipeline is expected to link West Siberian fields (which supplied Europe) to China via Mongolia, increasing China’s ability to import Russian gas, now limited to Power of Siberia 1, the pipeline connected to East Siberian fields active since the end 2019 which however has yet to reach its maximum capacity.