The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is a bridge for maintaining relations between Russia and Germany. This was announced on Monday, February 15, by the Director General of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy (OAOEV) Michael Harms in an interview on the Russia 1 TV channel.
“This project (Nord Stream 2 – Ed.) Is exactly the bridge that will help maintain these relations, and it is always good to have interdependence. The Americans always tell us that we are unilaterally dependent on Russia – this is absolutely not the case. This is a very positive economic interdependence that allows this relationship to be maintained, ”he said.
Kharms stressed that the SP-2 is a “very useful project”, and not only from an economic point of view, but also from a political one. He also noted that attempts to interfere with the implementation of Nord Stream 2 have a negative impact on the investment climate in Germany.
“Besides, I am always a little surprised that this project is overly politicized. This is a project that private companies are building at their own peril and risk, ”he said.
In addition, the general director of OAOEV recalled that JV-2 received all the necessary national European permits and that it does not contain “a single cent” of European taxpayers’ money. In addition, Kharms said that all attempts to interfere with the implementation of the project violate the principle of the investment guarantee.
Earlier, on February 12, US senators, Republican Jim Risch and Democrat Jean Shaheen, called on US President Joseph Biden to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. On the same day, the US State Department called the sanctions against this project one of the important tools in the current situation.
On February 11, Vladimir Vavilov, Deputy Head of the Department of Import Substitution of Technologies of Gazprom, announced that the company plans to commission Nord Stream 2 in 2021.
In early February, the US authorities set a number of conditions for the FRG to lift sanctions on the gas pipeline, but the German government did not see any opportunities for US concessions on the project and referred to the agreements already reached on gas transit through Ukraine.
On January 19, the US Treasury announced the expansion of sanctions against the gas pipeline project. The restrictions were imposed on the Russian pipe-laying vessel Fortuna and its owner. Restrictions include a ban on exports, banking and foreign exchange transactions, blocking of assets and property.
Nord Stream 2 is being built from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea with the aim of direct and reliable gas supplies to Europe. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The USA, the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine are against.