[ad_1]
“It is time for Germany and the EU to impose a moratorium on the construction of pipelines,” Robin Quinville, ambassador of the German ambassador, told the Handelsblatt business daily.
Such a move would send a strong signal to Russia that Europe refuses to accept its “malicious behavior,” the diplomat added.
“This pipeline is not only an economic project, but also a political tool that the Kremlin is using to bypass Ukraine and divide Europe,” Quinville said.
Less than 10 billion. Construction of Nord Stream 2, which will double the volume of Russian gas delivered to Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is being completed on the bed of the Baltic Sea.
This project has long been in the sights of the United States, which has criticized European countries for their dependence on Russian energy supplies.
Work on the pipeline has been frozen for nearly a year due to the threat of US sanctions, but construction work is due to resume this weekend. Russia said early Saturday that one of the pipelayers had arrived at a job site in the Baltic Sea and the other had set sail from the German port of Wismar.
The international consortium involved in the Nord Stream 2 project includes not only the majority-owned Russian giant Gazprom, but also large European companies such as the German groups Wintershall and Uniper, the British and Dutch giant Shell, the French Engie. And the Austrian OMV.
Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic countries are also vehemently opposed to the project, fearing that the new gas pipeline will increase Europe’s dependence on Russian energy supplies and that Moscow may use it to exert political pressure.
It is not allowed to publish, quote or reproduce the information of the BNS news agency in the media and on websites without the written consent of the UAB “BNS”.
[ad_2]
