NATO Has No Opinion On Nord Stream 2, NATO Members Have Differing Views - Stoltenberg

NATO does not have an opinion on Nord Stream 2 planned pipeline, although the alliance members have different views on the project set to bring gas from Russia to Germany, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2019) NATO does not have an opinion on Nord Stream 2 planned pipeline, although the alliance members have different views on the project set to bring gas from Russia to Germany, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday.

"We have highlighted the importance of diversification of supply to increase the resilience of our energy systems. But NATO does not have an opinion on Nord Stream 2 and as I've said before, NATO allies have different views on that ... I also strongly believe that if I, as a secretary general, start to have some kind of private opinion about that, that will be totally wrong," Stoltenberg told a press conference.

The pipeline has been a contentious issue in Europe and beyond. The European Parliament passed a resolution on Tuesday calling for the construction of Nord Stream 2 to be halted. US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said during a press conference a day earlier that the United States was still considering sanctions against the pipeline project.

France and Germany, both NATO members, have had a disagreement over the pipeline and EU energy rules that might impact its operation, with Berlin backing the gas pipeline project and Paris wary of it.