France Denies Sending Warships To Nord Stream 2 Area

The press office of France's chief of the defense staff told Sputnik on Tuesday that no French warships were operating near to where the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas link was underway

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2021) The press office of France's chief of the defense staff told Sputnik on Tuesday that no French warships were operating near to where the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas link was underway.

Nord Stream 2 AG, the pipeline's Swiss-based operator, said last week that it had noticed an increased presence of foreign ships in the area where pipe-laying vessels were building the offshore section.

"There are no French military ships at present in the zone where the gas pipeline is being constructed.

We cannot speak for the ships of other countries," the press office said.

The United States has been piling pressure on its allies to abandon the project, which seeks to bring a total of 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas a year to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Washington argues that the pipeline would increase the EU's dependence on Russia. Russia has denied ever using energy exports as a tool of coercion.