“It’s hard to be more specific on that because we don’t know what Russia is going to do – but that is part of the problem.”
Today, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he had halted certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which was built to send natural gas directly to Germany, circumventing Ukraine – something which Russia had been doggedly vying for.
Last year, Mr Putin was accused by European leaders of withholding natural gas supplies amid a shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Jessop said that if Mr Putin were to stop Russian aggression now, the economic outlook would not change too much.
