The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany should be completed, and US sanctions against the project constitute a violation of internationally-accepted rules, Chairman of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce Matthias Schepp told Sputnik on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany should be completed, and US sanctions against the project constitute a violation of internationally-accepted rules, Chairman of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce Matthias Schepp told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"As a business association, we unequivocally believe that Nord Stream 2 should be completed in full, and US extraterritorial sanctions constitute a step against the rules," Schepp said.
The chairman stated that the German economy requires low-cost energy sources to remain competitive, with Russian gas being one option available to Berlin.
Schepp also said that Washington's argument that Russia applied pressure on Germany to agree to Nord Stream 2 is not factual.
"This is an unreasonable argument, because in the world as it is, if Russia cuts off gas supplies, Germany and other consumers can easily buy liquefied natural gas from other countries," the chairman said, adding that sanctions were merely a means for Washington to help US companies gain a competitive advantage in Europe.
Nord Stream 2, a 745-mile-long twin pipeline that will carry nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of gas per year, is a joint venture between Russia's Gazprom and five European companies, including Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the project must be completed, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said in January that the pipeline should be finished by 2021, or by the first quarter of next year at the latest.
Washington announced that it planned to place sanctions on the project in December, and President Donald Trump on Friday gave officials the green light to impose punitive measures on the pipeline.
