MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2022) The Nord Stream 2 pipeline may have a prosperous future if Western countries remember that they have taxpayers, voters and a number of social duties, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev told Sputnik.
"I believe that the Nord Stream 2 project has a quite prosperous future. It can come true if our dialogue partners start being rational at some point and remember that they have taxpayers, voters and a number of social duties that need to be addressed. Not just to harm Russia, but to solve the most important tasks for their economies. Try to help their population. Make sure that the bills that taxpayers receive are reasonable," Medvedev said.
Nord Stream 2 is a new gas pipeline with a carrying capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year, enabling gas transit from the Russian coast across the Baltic Sea to Germany. Until recently, the project has gone through a drawn-out certification process with the German regulator. The United States, promoting its liquefied natural gas to Europe, alongside Ukraine have actively opposed the project, while Russia has urged to curb any politicization of the Nord Stream 2 launch, arguing that such a commercial project is beneficial to both Russia and the EU.
In response to Russia's special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, Western countries imposed a range of new sanctions against Moscow. In particular, Germany ceased the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
