Russia bans tiny US-based NGO for ‘sabotaging’ construction of gas pipeline to China
- US-based Altai Project rejects Russian accusation it sabotaged planned ‘Power of Siberia 2’ pipeline project
- Beijing has yet to make a commitment to the project, which aims to deliver natural gas from Russia to China via Mongolia
Russia accused a small US-based charity on Wednesday of “sabotaging” the construction of a huge gas pipeline to China and banned it as an “undesirable organisation”.
Jennifer Castner, director of the Altai Project, described the accusation as absurd but said it had been only a matter of time. The move followed clampdowns on many foreign NGOs in Russia, including a similar ban last month on the local arm of the WWF environmental group.
The Russian prosecutor general’s office said that while claiming to advocate nature conservation, the Altai Project was meddling in Russia’s internal affairs and could damage its economic security.
“The key direction of the organisation’s work is sabotaging the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline,” it said.
The planned pipeline is intended to deliver 50 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year from Russia to China via Mongolia.
Moscow put forward the idea many years ago, but it has gained urgency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as it turns to China to replace Europe as its major gas customer. Beijing, however, has yet to sign off on the deal.