The well-known German political scientist Alexander Rahr told the YouTube channel Klymenko Time what role German Chancellor Angela Merkel played in the construction of the Russian Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.
According to the political scientist, the active opposition to the construction of Nord Stream-2 on the part of the United States is precisely political, not economic. Rahr noted that Washington wanted to punish Berlin for cooperation with Russia, as well as destroy the gas alliance that has linked Germany and the Russian Federation in the past 50 years.
The expert stressed that the version that the United States allegedly intended to force European countries to switch to American gas instead of Russian gas does not sound very convincing, since such an economic project is doomed to failure.
“I think the Americans were not interested in the development of the gas business and did not try to squeeze Russian gas out of Europe because of this in order to sell their own. Of course, this also played a role. It’s just that Nord Stream-2 has become a politicized symbol of relations between Germany and Russia. If the US destroyed this symbol, then the energy alliance between Germany and Russia would indeed die. This is what the United States, Poland, the Baltic states and some other countries wanted to achieve”, Rahr explained.
According to the political scientist, Merkel was able to quickly understand the true goals of the White House and therefore began to defend the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream-2, while working on the development of cooperation between Russia and Germany in the gas industry. Rahr is confident that the gas pipeline will be completed before the end of the elections in Germany and the new German government will be forced to reckon with it.
“She just realized that Germany was beginning to be squeezed, that they were trying to impose some new concept on it, so she began to resist, including out of pride. As a result, she fought like a lioness for the implementation of the Nord Stream-2 project”, – the expert emphasized.
Rahr added that the EU does not intend to fill Nord Stream 2 at full capacity in order to comply with the rules for diversifying supplies. However, if the demand for blue fuel increases in European countries, then Russia will be ready to supply it in the required amount.
“If the climatic situation changes, winters get colder, Europe will need more gas. And then at any moment both the SP and Nord Stream-2 can be filled to 100% and pumped gas to Europe”, the expert summed up.
The Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline envisages the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the coast of Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. According to Nord Stream 2 AG, the pipeline is 99% complete.