I'm John Batchler. I welcome my good colleague Michael Bernstein at the Hoover Institution, watching the Russian Federation under severe sanctions.

The Russian Federation struggling with a military Keynesianism, converting its economy into everything for the front.

And now headlines from New York.

Russia remade its economy for war, but it comes at a huge cost. From Paris, after four years of war in Ukraine, Russia's economy could fall into recession. Two views from two capitals of what the Kremlin has wrought. Michael, a very good evening to you. I understand

we're now looking at the possibility of the war ending, or at least coming to some resolution

that is not killing. Therefore, there will be a moment when the European powers are looking around

for energy sources and asking themselves about Russia.

What is your observation?

Will they go back to Russia?

Europe is now free of Russian oil, and Europe soon, in half a year, will be free of Russian natural gas.

There is no economic rationale for the Europeans to go back to Russia.

Pipeline, gas pipelines are damaged and it will take $60 to $70 billion to restore them.

And now we have this cheaply-fied natural gas from the United States, from Qatar, coming

readily to Europe, and they built already from Greece to Austria, to Italy, to all central, eastern and western Europe,

the new gas pipelines. It is called the vertical corridor. It goes through from the terminals

in the agency to all of Europe. And the beauty of it is that shale gas production in the United

States is very cheap. And the United States can produce tremendous amounts. It's now exports

167 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe, which other parts of the world, which is

greater the amount is greater than Russia ever supplied to Europe. And the break-even, the break-even cost of

producing shale natural gas in the United States, the highest is $145 per thousand cubic meters. But

in more developed fields, it's $100 per 1,000 cubic meters.

But natural gas still sells for $350, $375 per 1,000 cubic meters in Europe.

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