China, Russia gas-pipeline statements raise questions on Power of Siberia 2 progress
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says agreement with China and Mongolia to build Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline is ‘practically’ finalised, as Russia looks to divert gas from Europe to Asia
- But analyst says such deals between Russia and China ‘complicate the ongoing China-US confrontations’ and raise geopolitical risks among major economies
As China moves to intensify economic cooperation with its northern neighbour, Beijing says it will work with Moscow to advance a new natural gas pipeline on which Russia has pinned high hopes as it reroutes supplies from Europe to Asia.
It was also in contrast with a more assertive remark coming from Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Tuesday. When asked whether the project was a done deal, he said “practically all the parameters of that agreement have been finalised”, according to the Financial Times.
The pipeline, which plans to deliver 50 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year from Russia’s Yamal Peninsula in west Siberia to China via Mongolia, has been on the books of the three countries for decades. But the Ukraine war has resulted in a greater sense of urgency for Russia to push for a deal, as the country is losing its once-biggest energy buyer – Europe – for the invasion.