Moscow wants the Iran deal.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the reasons why sanctions against Iran will be lifted whether or not America pulls out of the nuclear deal is that the other signatories (Russia, China, and the EU) have an economic interest in lifting those sanctions. This economic interest includes natural gas. \u00a0On the face of it, there was no reason for Russia to let Iran re-renter the natural gas market. \u00a0The two countries, after all, are competitors.<\/p>\n
Yet a closer look at the complicated geopolitics of energy makes sense of Russia\u2019s endgame. \u00a0The EU imports about one third of its natural gas from Russia. This relative dependency limits the EU\u2019s leverage over Russia and, therefore, Europe\u2019s ability to rein in Vladimir Putin\u2019s rampant annexation of eastern Ukraine. Since Iran has one of the world\u2019s largest natural gas reserves, it could potentially help diversify Europe\u2019s imports. Yet it might take a decade for Iran to turn into a major natural gas supplier (not least because Iran has a high domestic demand that is likely to increase). Putin, of course, understands that Iran might become a major competitor in this field, but he appears to assess that bringing back Iran into the natural gas market may help Russia create a cartel that will artificially inflate the price of natural gas. Doing so would serve Russia\u2019s economic interests.<\/p>\n
Moscow wants the Iran deal.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the reasons why sanctions against Iran will be lifted whether or not America pulls out of the nuclear deal is that the other signatories (Russia, China, and the EU) have an economic interest … Continue reading ![\"Russia](\"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Russia-and-Iram.jpg\")
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