| | | OT.
As it happens I'm 50% Italian from my late mother's side. She came from Genoa, one of Italy's main ports.
I still have a few relatives there, mainly in the North of Italy.
Needless to say, I'm biased, but it does take a lot to beat Italian food, the scenery and the overall history of the Country, especially in a city like Rome where you can walk past many structures several thousand years old.
When it comes to "This winter will be harsh on Euroland" , at the end of the day the EU brought this on themselves by imposing their 6 to 7 sets of Sanctions on Russia, especially with regard to Natural Gas, Oil, Grain and Fertilizer. And those Sanctions are, in principle, "Illegal" in terms of International Law because only the UN SECURITY COUNCIL can impose sanctions on a country following a vote by its current members.
At the end of the day, prior to around March this year, Russia has never stopped supplying Natural Gas 100% to Europe via several pipelines.
And with regard to Angela Merkel, the previous German Chancellor, it was she who approached Russia, and not the other way around, to supply Germany with more gas after she closed down ALL of Germany's Nuclear Power Plants. She then came under severe pressure from Germany's Main Industrialists for a more reliable source of energy other than the "Green New Deal".
Vladimir Putin was initially reluctant to provide more Natural Gas via a new pipeline because of a previous "Negative" encounter he had had with Merkel over another pipeline contract. However, he eventually agreed and Natural Gas was to be supplied directly to Germany via the sub-sea Nord Stream 2 pipeline from a newly developed Gas field in the far north of Russia.
After the main sub-sea pipe laying contractor left the contract due to "pressure" brought on him by certain of the "Collective West" countries, Russia put its own sub-sea pipe laying barges onto the contract and completed laying Nord Stream 2 right up to the connection point on the German coast, so the extra Gas can now flow to Germany.
HOWEVER, that is NOT happening because the current German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has put A HOLD on the necessary Clearance Certificates to be issued so that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline can be Commissioned into service. So it's NOT Russia who is preventing Natural Gas to flow through that pipeline to Germany.
And with regard to reduced gas flow through Nord Stream 1 .... that was initially due to a strategic Gas Turbine needing Repair and Overhaul. That had to be done by SIEMENS at their facility in Canada.
Once the work was completed Justin Trudeau refused to release it directly to Russia because he stated that would "Violate" sanctions against Russia.
A "desperate" Olaf Scholz had protracted discussions with Trudeau and it was finally agreed that Canada would permit transport of the Turbine directly to Germany, and Germany could then send it to Russia.
Since then there have been problems with one or two other Gas Turbines on Nord Stream 1 causing further reductions in gas flow.
In addition there was a 10 day shut down of gas flow through Nord Stream 1, but that was due to Routine Maintenance that ALL relevant parties had been made well aware of far in advance.
Needless to say, there is also much that can be discussed regarding Oil, Grain and Fertilizer from Russia, but that can maybe wait for another day ......
Suffice to say that the Ruble vs USD in February this year was around RUB80/USD. Today it's improved by about 22% and sits at around RUB62/USD.
Doesn't look as if the desired effects of the "Sanctions" against Russia and its economy have been achieved so far, while things get "far more desperate" in the EU Member States, especially as the "ice of winter" approaches.
So there we have it ..........
bruwin |
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