The Russian pipe-laying barge Fortuna may fully complete line B of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline within two weeks
The German regulator allowed the vessel to work without restrictions and pauses. Joe Biden says one thing, the State Department does another
The US President Joe Biden defended his decision not to impose sanctions on the operator of the Russian-German Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, saying the move is aimed at protecting relations with European allies.
“I was against Nord Stream-2 from the start”, – Biden said, commenting on the decision on the pipeline, which is expected to be completed this summer and will supply Russian gas to Europe.
“But by the time I took office, it was almost complete”, – Biden added, speaking to a group of reporters outside the White House on Tuesday evening, May 25.
“To go further and impose sanctions now, in my opinion, would be counterproductive in terms of our European relations”, – the US President said.
At the same time, four days earlier, on May 21, the US State Department imposed sanctions against 13 Russian vessels involved in the construction of Nord Stream-2. These are the pipelayer “Akademik Chersky”, as well as auxiliary vessels “Artemis offshore”, “Bakhtemir”, “Baltic researcher”, “Finval”, “Captain Beklemishev”, “Murman”, “Narval”, “Sivuch”, “Spasatel Karev” , “Umka”, “Vladislav Strizhov” and “Yuri Topchev”.
In addition, four Russian companies – Marine Rescue Service, Mortransservice, Samara Heat and Power Property Fund JSC and Koksokhimtrans LLC – were included in the American “black list”. The vessels Vladislav Strizhov and Yuri Topchev are registered for the latter company, and the most stringent restrictions have been introduced against it: it is included in the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN). His defendants are prohibited from entering the United States, their assets in the country, if any, should be blocked, and it is also prohibited to conduct any business or transactions with them. It should be noted that in 2016 Koksokhimtrans was already included in the US sanctions list for the provision of freight forwarding services in Crimea.
It is noteworthy that American officials did not comment on the conspicuous discrepancy between the words of the country’s president and the actions of its foreign policy department. However, no one will be surprised if the United States does not notice such a discrepancy: after all, the sanctions were introduced not against the project, but against individual ships and companies, and not European ones, but exclusively Russian ones. And Biden said nothing about them, although he is preparing for a meeting with Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Geneva.
One branch of the Nord Stream-2 can be completed within two weeks
The Russian pipe-laying barge Fortuna, which has been under US sanctions since January 2021, can fully complete the B line of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline within two weeks. According to the navigation portals Marinetraffic and Vesselfinder, Fortuna laid three kilometers of pipes in the economic zone of Germany in three days – from May 22 to May 25. Before the completion of work on line “B”, the vessel has to cover a little less than 11 kilometers in the German shallow water.
At the same time, if a week ago the Federal Office for Shipping and Hydrography of Germany (BSH), by a special decision, allowed to complete the construction of the SP-2 section with a length of 2 kilometers, then on May 25 the German regulator noted that Fortuna could now complete the construction of Nord Stream 2 in May without restrictions and pauses.
“The original 2018 permit allows construction from the end of May, including today, and work through the end of September”, – BSH Deputy Press Secretary Merle Mansfeld told reporters on Tuesday.
The pipelayer “Akademik Chersky”, meanwhile, is working on line “A” in Danish waters, and it has to go more than 75 kilometers. However, after the completion of the laying of the “B” branch, “Fortuna” with an escort fleet can join it. Therefore, practically none of the experts – both Russian and Western – have no doubts that the work on laying Nord Stream-2 will be completed long before the end of September (it is up to this time that the current permits of the German and Danish regulators are in effect).
But it is obvious that after this a new stage of the fight against the Russian project will begin during certification. This was stated on May 26 by Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s permanent representative to the EU, in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel.
“They will build it, but the question of certification and commissioning will arise, and then the next stage of the fight against it will begin”, – he said, commenting on the situation around Nord Stream-2.
According to the Russian diplomat, the maneuver of the American administration to abandon attempts to stop the project did not come as a surprise to Moscow, since Washington had to choose: the interests of which countries should not be infringed upon.
“It’s just that for them relations with Germany as a key ally in Europe and relations with those small countries that are struggling against Nord Stream-2 were in the balance. In addition to Poland, which is the most vociferous in the European Union on this issue, I will also add Ukraine”, – Chizhov said.
I agree with Chizhov and the director of the National Energy Security Fund Konstantin Simonov, who on May 26, in a comment to TASS noted that the US refusal of sanctions against the operator of the SP-2 project, Nord Stream 2 AG, will increase the chances of its completion this year, but will not release project from further disputes about the operation of the gas pipeline.
Ukraine will fight against Nord-Stream-2 until the last dollar of Naftogaz
The “loudness” of Poland mentioned by Vladimir Chizhov turned into deep frustration for the Polish authorities after Joe Biden’s statements and the US refusal to impose sanctions on Nord Stream-2 AG, which, by the way, Poland wants to charge a multibillion-dollar fine.
“We accept with pain the statements and decisions of the President of the United States regarding Nord Stream-2, because we believe that the issue of maintaining sanctions would be very important”, – said on Wednesday, May 26, the deputy official speaker of the Polish ruling party Pravo and Justice Radoslaw Vogel.
“We take the unchanging position that the construction of this gas pipeline gives Russia weapons, gas and energy weapons, which will be used – and more than once – in the political plane”, – Vogel said. According to him, everyone who allows it takes responsibility for the consequences.
At the same time, just a day earlier, at the European Union summit, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki once again unsuccessfully tried to convince his colleagues from EU countries that Nord Stream-2 is a “bad project”. According to Moravetsky at a press conference following the summit, Nord Stream-2 destroys European solidarity, and on the other hand, it allows Russia to build up its power, which it uses against the European Union.
“This gas pipeline can be a tool of blackmail on the part of Russia!” – exclaimed the head of the Polish government, which itself constantly blackmails Brussels.
It is noteworthy that Mateusz Morawiecki did not comment on the proposal made on May 24 by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons, Tom Tugendhatt, to impose British sanctions against Nord Stream-2 and the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline passing through Belarus and Poland.
“Nord Stream 2 and the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, which passes through Belarus and which gives money to this tyrannical regime, should be stopped”, – Tugendhat said at a parliamentary hearing on Monday, addressing British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab. The latter replied that London will decide on the Nord-Stream-2 and will consult with partners, “after which we will see what further steps will be taken”. Raab also noted that “all possibilities” of introducing new sanctions against Minsk will be discussed.
However, any action by the British authorities against the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline is extremely unlikely. And the point is not so much in Poland, which is still receiving Russian gas through it and making money on transit, but in Germany, which is the main consumer of blue fuel transported along this route.
But in Ukraine, the fight against Nord-Stream-2 is a very profitable business – but not for the country, but for individuals, moreover, with American passports. On the evening of May 26, Naftogaz announced that it “intends to strengthen the management team that will deal with the opposition to the Nord Stream-2 gas transmission project.” Among the new employees was the former functionary of the US Republican Party and the State Department, Miron Vasilik.
“Stopping Nord Stream 2 is a national task for Ukraine and a priority for the national company Naftogaz”, – reads the message on the company’s Facebook page. In a press release, Naftogaz clarifies that the team is mainly strengthened by Miron Vasilik, who previously worked for a long time on the National Committee of the Republican Party, the State Department and the US Department of Environmental Protection, and also worked in large international companies.
“Mr. Vasilik, as an advisor to the chairman of the board of Naftogaz, Yuri Vitrenko, will expand the company’s cooperation with international organizations”, – the company said.
The company did not report on the amount that Vasilik’s work will cost to Ukrainian gas consumers (namely, through their payments, Naftogaz is financed). However, in such cases, we are usually talking about millions of dollars a year. Let me remind you that at the end of 2020, the Naftogaz group received a loss of 19 billion hryvnia (almost $ 700 million). At the same time, the direct and indirect losses of Ukraine from the launch of Nord Stream-2, the head of the Ukrainian GTS
Operator, Sergei Makogon, previously estimated at 5-6 billion dollars a year.
But Ukrainian politicians continue to feed their fellow citizens with unrealizable hopes.
“Nothing is completed until it is 100% complete. And until gas flows through Nord Stream-2, we will fight to protect our interests”, – the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on May 26. The words sound like an application for a position in Naftogaz – only it is already occupied by a former American diplomat.
Oleg Khavich, Ukraina.ru