Posted 10 октября 2022, 11:58
Published 10 октября 2022, 11:58
Modified 24 декабря 2022, 22:38
Updated 24 декабря 2022, 22:38
An interesting example of the fact that the first Western sanctions imposed on Russia back in 2014 and 2015 after the events in Crimea and Donbass were not too tough is given by journalist Pavel Pryanikov on his channel. It concerns the construction of one of the symbols of Russian politics - the Crimean Bridge, which actually turned out to be an unexpected embodiment of European-Russian cooperation. Moreover, it is not customary to talk about this in Russia. The fact is that many European and not only companies participated in the construction of this largely unique engineering and technical facility.
Pryanikov lists only some of them. For example, ExxonMobil was involved in the design documentation for the general technology of the foundation. But the German concern Stetter built a modular concrete plant for the bridge. The Italian firm Bvgranigliatrici took over the anti-corrosion coating. Other types of work were carried out by the Dutch AkzoNobel, Mammoet and Allnamics, the English company Elcometer, the Finnish Junttan, the German Maurer AG (it supplied materials for the manufacture of anti-seismic ball bearings), and so on and so forth. Well, the cherry on the “cooperation cake” was crushed stone, which was brought to construction from the quarries of Ukraine...
What about Western sanctions? And here's what. The European Union headquarters in Brussels then "expressed concern about the participation of European companies in the construction of the bridge, as this undermines the sanctions regime". Moreover, the Dutch Attorney General's Office once stated that as many as seven Dutch companies were under investigation for circumventing sanctions by participating in the construction of the Crimean bridge. And even then, this case was soon put on the brakes.
However, now, in connection with the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, an extremely curious question arises: if it is necessary to solve some technical problems in the operation of this most complex facility, including those related to its restoration after the explosion, who will now deal with it? After all, apparently, the point of no return in the relations of the parties has already been passed...