On Tuesday, the US Senate voted for the US’ $738 billion defence budget, which includes sanctions on those contractors who are participating in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Representatives of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) have lashed out at Washington over its recent decision to slap sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project.
She added that US policy of trying to “influence the European order” is still an issue.
Minister-president of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Manuel Schwezig, for her part, told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) media group that she believes that the US pursues its own economic interests when it comes to the anti-Nord Stream 2 sanctions.
She emphasised that Nord Stream 2 is of great importance for Germany’s energy supply and expressed concern over the project’s possible disruption.
She spoke after Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 as “a perfect example of unfair competition”, saying that Washington is imposing more expensive gas on Europe. He added that both “Moscow and Europe dislike US sanctions on Nord Stream 2, as these measures violate international law.”
The statement followed the US Senate voting 86-8 in favour of the 2020 National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), which will now be forwarded to US President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law. The bill includes sanctions against Nord Stream 2, Turkey, and Syria along with a range of other measures.
He underscored Nord Stream 2’s importance in ensuring Germany’s energy security, saying that attempts to “torpedo” the implementation of the project should have prompted the government of Angela Merkel to immediately take measures to defend it.
US Wants to Disrupt Nord Stream 2 Project
Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture between the Russian energy giant Gazprom and five European companies: France’s ENGIE, Austria’s OMV, the UK-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall.
The pipeline is due to be finished before the end of this year and will carry up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia to Germany and Central Europe, bypassing the traditional route through Ukraine and Poland.
The US has repeatedly tried to undermine the project, threatening everyone involved with sanctions, while promoting its liquefied natural gas on the European market.
Ukraine is also actively opposing Nord Stream 2, as it fears it will lose revenue from Russian gas transit. Moscow says that the project is absolutely commercial and competitive, and that it does not imply the cancellation of the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine to the EU.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
