SCW NEWSWATCH: "Russia seizes on Suez blockage to promote merits of Arctic route; Moscow is busy highlighting the northern sea route and Nordstream as alternatives for world trade" - Financial Times

"[After the recent blockage of the Suez Canal,] Russia has been reminding Europe of ... [Russia's] northern sea route to Asia along its Arctic coast ... responsible for 33 [million tons] of cargo last year, [compared with] more than 3 [millions tons] ... daily [through the Suez Canal]. .... [Y]ear-round [Arctic] navigation is not expected until 2025-2030 and climate risks remain .... Demand for [Trans-Siberian Russian] railway cargo shipments ... has already increased .... Moscow also ... remind[ed] global energy markets [of] ... unimpeded oil and gas deliveries. ... [through] extensive [Russian] oil and gas pipelines network to Europe, Turkey and China .... The Suez blockage could also serve as a trump card for Russia’s Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. ..."

Nord Stream II would carry gas directly from Russia to Europe from the north via Germany, rather than through Ukraine. That project has been delayed for two years in the face of strong U.S. opposition.

Click here for: "Russia seizes on Suez blockage to promote merits of Arctic route; Moscow is busy highlighting the northern sea route and Nordstream as alternatives for world trade" - Financial Times/ Nastassia Astrasheuskaya

Aerial Image of Suez area, adapted from image at nasa.gov