US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the completion of “Nord Stream 2“will depend on who is building it, despite Washington’s resistance.
“Ultimately, it depends on whoever is trying to build the pipeline and complete it. We just wanted to make sure that our opposition to the pipeline was well understood,” Blinken said. It is reported by Reuters.
The US Secretary of State noted that he had already told his German counterpart that US sanctions against the pipeline from Russia to Germany are realistically possible. According to him, the United States “has no ambiguity” regarding its construction.
Since Nord Stream 2 will bypass Ukraine, critics argue that it will deprive Kiev of lucrative transit revenues and potentially undermine the country’s efforts to counter Russian aggression.
At the same time, the Kremlin says the $ 11 billion project, led by the Russian state energy company Gazprom, is commercial. However, the US authorities opposed the implementation of the pipeline.
What is known about the Russian gas pipeline
Nord Stream 2 will bypass transit states (Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and other Eastern European countries) through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
Initially, the project was estimated at 9.5 billion euros. It is being implemented by Gazprom in an alliance with European companies Engie, Uniper, OMV, Shell, Wintershall. They undertook to finance Nord Stream 2 in total by 50%, that is for 950 million euros each. Gazprom will provide the second half of the funds – 4.75 billion euros.
Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic States and the United States criticize SP-2. In their opinion, the EU may become dependent on Russian gas. Ukraine also does not want to lose its role as a transit country for gas. In this case, she will lose 3 billion in annual income. Berlin promises to guarantee transit through Ukraine even after the construction of the gas pipeline.
As reported OBOZREVATEL:
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US sanctions are the main obstacle to complete the construction of “Nord Stream-2”. From October 20, they concern insurance and certified companies that work with ships. It will not be possible to complete and launch the gas pipeline without certification and insurance. According to Nord Stream 2 AG, the restrictions will affect over a hundred European companies.
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US Department of State posted clarification, which states that not only companies that provide ships for the construction of Nord Stream 2 will fall under US sanctions, but also those that are engaged in the modernization of ships for its completion and installation of the necessary equipment on them, or finance these processes.
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USA warned Germanythat they will impose sanctions against the Russian vessel, which is completing the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. In addition, the Germans themselves are trying to stop the launch of the “pipe”. Several environmental organizations, including Deutsche Umwelthilfe, are trying to appeal against the permission to complete the construction.
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