Antonina Levashenko, head of the Laboratory for the Analysis of Best International Practices at the Gaidar Institute, told RIA Novosti that Russia and the U.S. might reach an agreement at the Alaska summit to lift sanctions on specific oil and gas projects, including the Arctic LNG 2 project.
However, she emphasized that this process is unlikely to be quick, as the U.S. has “a rather complex mechanism for lifting sanctions.”
“The U.S. continues to use sanctions as a tool of economic pressure on Russia. Therefore, it is unlikely that sanctions will be lifted quickly in the context of the Alaska negotiations. However, through a series of talks, the parties may agree on lifting certain individual sanctions, such as those affecting Arctic LNG 2, whose implementation is currently hampered by American sanctions,” Levashenko explained.
She added that resuming the Arctic LNG 2 project could revive Russian gas exports to Asian markets and reopen LNG shipping routes. Current U.S. sanctions prevent Chinese, Korean, and Japanese companies from participating in the project.
Levashenko noted that the U.S. Congress restricts the suspension of sanctions through laws like CAATSA and the REPO Act. “For example, CAATSA requires the U.S. president to submit a report to congressional committees explaining how lifting sanctions would substantially change U.S. foreign policy toward Russia. Congress then reviews the decision based on national security interests,” she said.
She also suggested that other important issues for developing Russian-American economic relations through 2030 might be discussed at the summit — “for example, regarding competition in cyberspace and outer space.”