Germany's Russia Coordinator Says Not Completing Nord Stream 2 'Irresponsible'

Leaving the Nord Stream 2 gas project unfinished when the pipeline is almost completed runs contrary to economic considerations, Johann Saathoff, the German government's coordinator for Intersocietal Cooperation with Russia, Central Asia and the Eastern Partnership Countries, told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th March, 2021) Leaving the Nord Stream 2 gas project unfinished when the pipeline is almost completed runs contrary to economic considerations, Johann Saathoff, the German government's coordinator for Intersocietal Cooperation with Russia, Central Asia and the Eastern Partnership Countries, told Sputnik.

"Both out of economic considerations and taking into account the national economy, I believe that not finishing this project would be irresponsible," Saathoff said.

Some 100 private companies are working to complete the pipeline, which is now 97 percent ready, the German official pointed out.

"Nord Stream 2 is important for Germany's and the European Union's gas security. It is important for the diversification of supply. A gas pipeline is also a bridge in a sense that connects Germany to Russia and the European Union to the Russian gas network.

These connections should be built and preserved, not ruined. Even today," Saathoff argued.

The German official also said that the bilateral energy cooperation is benefiting the common climate goals under the 2015 Paris Agreement, adding that he would want to see more active cooperation on renewable sources.

Nord Stream 2 is a twin offshore pipeline designed to pump Russian gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The United States long criticized the project and threatened it with sanctions, including collaterally, for example, by sanctioning companies which work on the pipeline's construction.

Several EU countries, too, have called for sanctioning Nord Stream 2. These mainly include those in Europe's east which have until now had sizable income from onshore transit fees. Germany has so far been opposed to hindering the pipeline's completion.