"Those companies which are partners of Gazprom in this project are unlikely to review their decisions. These are the German companiesWintershall and Uniper, the Austrian OMV, the French Engie, the British-Netherlands Shell. The French started to hesitate somewhat, for them, by the way, this project is not so interesting and maybe they will take a separate position, but so far, such signs are not visible. The US should "hit" with sanctions on contractors, because without them Gazprom will not be able to complete this project," the expert said, answering a question about whether recent US sanctions could affect the implementation of the Nord Stream 2.
According to him, this project of the Russian gas monopolist "consists of 90% of foreign participation, material support, equipment, pipes, etc.".
"There is little Russian part there and the blow should be directed here. And for contractors this will be sensitive, because many of them have their own business in the USA", - the expert is convinced.
Gonchar noted that earlier in Washington "they marked the sanctions against the Nord Stream2, but so far it did not affect specific subjects." "It's time to get involved. I think that the coming weeks will be demonstrative," he is convinced.
At the same time, the expert expressed the opinion that the current scandal with the leakage of the documents of the European Commission's investigation of the violation of Russian Gazprom's rules of competition in the European market would be a quite serious hit on the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project.
He suggests that "German sympathizers" of Gazprom may insist that the violations are not so serious and there is a need to cooperate further. "Here, Europeans fall into their own paradigm, that any issues with a partner, difficult and conflicting, who professes other values, should still be resolved through dialogue. "Gazprom" uses it when it imposes its vision and approaches during the dialogue", - Gonchar said.
The president of the Centre for Global Studies "Strategy XXI", expressed the conviction that Nord Stream 2, like the entire scope of gas cooperation, should be included in the EU list of sanctions against aggressive Russian politics.
"The same project Nord Stream2 should have just been postponed indefinitely. Brussels and Berlin should have said to Moscow: once you violate the foundations of international law, ignore the legal solution to problematic issues, for example, ignoring the decision of the Stockholm arbitration regarding a contract with Gazprom, then you cannot implement any projects until you do not return to the legal field. But we do not hear it, and the reason is Russian gas corruption," Gonchar said.
