Nord Stream 2 Should Be Completed As It Reflects Germany's Interests - AfD

Nord Stream 2 Should Be Completed as It Reflects Germany's Interests - AfD

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2020) The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline should be completed as it corresponds to the interests of Germany, Armin-Paulus Hampel, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party spokesman in the German lower house's committee on foreign affairs, told Sputnik in an interview.

Earlier in the day, an AfD delegation visited Moscow and held a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, discussing the pipeline's constriction among other things.

"We both with Lavrov, as well as [AfD Co-Chairman] Tino Chrupalla and me, we expressed our great concerns that on the very last step the Nord Stream 2 will not be completed ... And it must be in the German interests to get this project completed, and we agreed with foreign minister Lavrov that we don't want the interference of other countries, like the United States, to stop this project," Hampel said.

He added that he expects the United States to oppose the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline no matter who occupies the White House, incumbent President Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

"We expect that the US' concerns will be the same as with the Trump administration. I mean, one has to keep in mind that even President [Barack] Obama objected against the Nord Stream 2 project, and this hasn't changed. So, if it's Donald Trump or Joe Biden, we expect that the US government will try to do everything to put the German government, as well as German companies and other companies, under pressure to stop this project," Hampel said.

The Nord Stream 2 project aims to lay a 745-mile-long twin pipeline that will carry up to 1.942 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany, passing through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden.

The US is a vocal opponent to the project as well as Berlin's alleged dependence on Russian natural resources. Last December, US President Donald Trump signed the 2020 defense budget, which included sanctions against the project.