The US sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will create problems for implementation of the project, but this project cannot be stopped and Russia plans to launch first gas deliveries to Europe in the near future, Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th December, 2019) The US sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will create problems for implementation of the project, but this project cannot be stopped and Russia plans to launch first gas deliveries to Europe in the near future, Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik.
The US Senate on Tuesday passed a $738 billion defense bill for 2020 fiscal year that, in particular, includes sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream and bars military-to-military cooperation with Russia. The defense budget also prescribes the allocation of military aid to Ukraine.
"The decision of the upper chamber of the US Congress will definitely create troubles for the Nord Stream 2 project. It means that there will be more problematic to implement this project. But it is now impossible to stop the project. It will be implemented. The Germans will not allow the United States to deprive them from their right to trade with Russia. Therefore we have only one response � to deliver gas to Europe through the pipes of the Nord Stream 2 in the near future," Morozov said.
He believes that the US sanctions against the gas pipeline will rather target Germany and other European countries than Russia.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said in November that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will start operating in the middle of 2020.
Talking about US plans to provide Ukraine with military assistance, Morozov said that this money would not change anything in terms of Ukraine's defense capability.
The Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture between Gazprom and five European companies: France's ENGIE, Austria's OMV, the UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. The 745-mile-long twin pipeline will carry up to 55 billion cubic meters (1.942 trillion cubic feet) of gas per year from Russia to Germany, passing through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden.
The United States has been consistently trying to undermine the project, threatening everyone involved with sanctions, while promoting its liquefied natural gas on the European market. Ukraine is also actively opposing Nord Stream 2, fearing to lose revenue from Russian gas transit. Russia has repeatedly stated that the project was absolutely commercial and competitive, and that it did not imply the cancellation of the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine to the EU.
