The Washington Post quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Aslund on how the Gazprom Baltic Sea pipeline is a direct implementation of Russia’s geopolitical and economic goals in the region:
“But it doesn’t,” says Anders Aslund of the Atlantic Council. “Consumption of natural gas in the European Union has fallen by 21 percent over the past decade, and the existing Gazprom pipeline under the Baltic Sea is now operating at half capacity. And Gazprom is no ordinary state corporation. It pursues Russia’s geopolitical goals, cutting supplies or raising prices when the Kremlin wants.”
The views of Aslund, a Swedish economist with extensive experience in Russia and Ukraine, are bolstered by Gerhard Schroeder’s role as the head of the board of directors at Gazprom’s Nord Stream subsidiary.Schroeder signed the initial sweetheart deal with Putin for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in 2005 shortly after his defeat by Merkel at the polls. It was in his final days as Germany’s chancellor that he began discussions with Putin about going on the Gazprom payroll, according to one source in a position to know.