Mohsen Habibi; Ahmad Bakhshayeshi Ardestani; Seyedali Tabatabaei Panah
Volume 25, Issue 106 , August 2019, , Pages 27-58
Abstract
The existence of a significant level of asymmetric interdependence in Russian-European Union energy relations has fueled Western concerns about the conversion of Russian energy resources ...
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The existence of a significant level of asymmetric interdependence in Russian-European Union energy relations has fueled Western concerns about the conversion of Russian energy resources into political capital and Kremlin's use of energy leverage to infiltrate Europe and the Near East. At the same time, being engaged with political consequences of dependence to Russian energy, the European Union, in the new security environment following the Ukraine crisis in 2014 and the imposition of unilateral US sanctions on Russia's energy sector, faces new challenges for supplying energy resources. Addressing the mentioned concerns and challenges, the present article seeks to respond to the following question: "How is Russian gas export strategy assessed following Western sanctions since 2014?” The author argues that although Western sanctions have led into decreasing foreign capital and technology investments in Russia’s energy sector since 2014, the EU's needs for gas imports from Russia have increased meanwhile; therefore the sanctions have not had a significant impact on Russia's energy weapons performance.” Using descriptive-analytical method and an inferential methodology the authors try to find an answer for the research question. While confirming the mentioned hypothesis, the findings show that Russian-European Union interactions in the area of energy will continue under the shadow of US sanctions.
