Western sanctions against the Arctic LNG 2 project: logic, chronology, and China’s approach

This article analyzes US and EU sanctions against the Arctic LNG 2 project and its development under sanctions. The article aims to assess the impact of Western sanctions on the Arctic LNG 2 project and China’s participation in it. It explores the motivation, logic, and algorithm for Washington and Brussels’ sanctions against the project, traces project’s implementation under increasing sanctions pressure, and assesses the impact of sanctions on Russia’s cooperation with China on this project. International alliance theory is used as a conceptual explanatory framework. A general theoretical conclusion is reached regarding the limited effectiveness of sanctions when countered by strong geopolitical alliances/quasi-alliances, and a specific conclusion is reached that Russia-China cooperation has offset the impact of the sanctions imposed on Arctic LNG 2.