Germany Retains Interest In Nord Stream 2 But Companies Weighing Risks - Moscow

Germany still has interest in completing the Nord Stream 2 project, despite US pressure, although companies are weighing up the risks of participating in the construction of the gas pipeline, resulting in delays, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said on Friday

VERONA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2020) Germany still has interest in completing the Nord Stream 2 project, despite US pressure, although companies are weighing up the risks of participating in the construction of the gas pipeline, resulting in delays, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said on Friday.

"A year and a half ago, I was very optimistic. Now there are so many pegs and lines drawn that it is hard to say. Our German friends, as a matter of fact, are interested, and this interest has not subsided, but the threats and toxicity from the US over participation in Nord Stream 2 are such that [European] companies are, of course, weighing up the risks for themselves. Everything is dragging," Pankin told reporters on the sidelines of the XIII Eurasian Economic Forum in the Italian city of Verona.

The US State Department on Tuesday broadened the scope of its sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 project, as Washington will now be able to target companies that provide services or funding for vessels working on the pipeline project.

The Kremlin has criticized the United States for imposing yet another set of sanctions on the project, saying that it exemplifies Washington's desire for unfair competition.

Despite the US sanctions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this past January that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will deliver Russian gas to Europe, should be completed.

Earlier US sanctions on the project resulted in Switzerland's Allseas, which was participating in laying the pipeline in the Baltic Sea, suspending its work in late December.