The latest work on the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline has stopped after the United States has imposed sanctions on the project. Now Russia sees the European Union on the move for a way out of the situation. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Kosak told the state television that the EU has an interest in its own energy security at acceptable prices. The Russian pipeline gas is 30 percent cheaper than the liquefied gas from the United States, said Kosak.
"We are convinced that we can solve the problem in cooperation with the European countries - with the EU - and find a compromise," said Kosak.
The US, on the other hand, bases its resistance to Nord Stream 2 on the EU's excessive dependence on Russian gas. You want to prevent the project and have imposed sanctions against it. Nord Stream 2 costs around ten billion euros. Around 2,300 kilometers of pipeline through the Baltic Sea have already been laid, the last 160 kilometers are still missing.
Nord Stream 2 was originally scheduled to be ready by the end of this year. Due to the US sanctions, however, the laying of the pipes on the bottom of the Baltic Sea has now been stopped. Russia has to look for new ships. The previous special ships "Pioneering Spirit" and "Solitaire" of the shipping company Allseas have already left the area before Rügen and are now heading north through the great Belt.
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Russia expects further pressure from the United States against the project, said Deputy Prime Minister Kosak. Moscow mainly expects delays, but assumes that the line between Russia and Germany will be completed. It was an "economic project" in the interest of Europe, said Kosak.
Russian Vice Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reaffirmed government plans to take countermeasures to respond to US sanctions. For example, Russian entry bans are conceivable for Americans who are driving sanctions against Russia. US companies operating in Russia should be spared.