The highly vaunted Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline remains stalled months after Gazprom signed what it called a “legally binding” memorandum with China to build it, even as the Iran war has renewed Russian hopes that concerns over energy security could push Beijing closer to a deal.
Moscow sees the project, which would transport gas from Russia’s Yamal Peninsula to China via Mongolia along a 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) route, as critical to replacing lost European gas sales after the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian officials have revived their public push for the pipeline after the outbreak of war in the Middle East, arguing that the Iran war’s disruptions to global energy supplies underscore the value of overland gas routes.
During a visit to Beijing in April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged that discussions regarding the Power of Siberia 2 have been ongoing “for quite a while now,” but insisted the project offers advantages over “existing infrastructure” and would “harmoniously complement” it.
Referring to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, he said Russia and China have the “capabilities” to wean themselves from “such aggressive adventures that undermine the global economy and the energy sector.”
