The construction of the Nord Stream – 2 gas pipeline is at the final stage, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper
Nechayev stressed that the US and Germany have not signed an agreement on Nord Stream-2, but only made a joint statement, which does not legally bind the parties to anything. Furthermore, it does not carry any obligations for Russia, as Moscow was not involved in the preparation of the statement.
“We assume that the German-American agreement will not affect the pace of construction and the completion date of Nord Stream 2. The construction work is in its final stage, with only weeks to go until it is fully completed”, – the diplomat said.
“Nord Stream 2” envisages the construction of two gas pipelines from the Russian coast to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Each line will be able to carry more than 27 billion cubic metres of gas per year. Washington and Berlin issued a joint statement in late July in which the FRG pledged to seek gas transit through Ukraine, while the US acknowledged that sanctions restrictions would not be able to stop the construction of Nord Stream 2.
However, US President Joe Biden’s administration reserved the right to take action in case of “Russia’s use of energy as a geopolitical weapon in Europe” and “aggression against Ukraine”. For its part, the Russian side has repeatedly stressed that it has never used the energy sphere as an instrument of pressure.