Zakharova Mocks Blinken's Statement On Germany, Says 'Best Friends' Not Treated Like That

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th June, 2021) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has responded to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's declaration of friendship with Germany, saying that genuine friends would not exploit relations for their own benefit, referring to the Nord Stream 2 row.

Earlier on Wednesday, Blinken told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the United States had "no better friend in the world than Germany," citing shared values and interests.

"Blinken said that Germany is the best friend of the United States. Why does the US then prevent its best friend from participating in the Nord Stream 2 project, which it would profit from? This is not how best friends should be treated," Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is nearly complete, is designed to transport natural gas across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. It has been met with opposition from the US, which views the project as threatening European energy independence and has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on companies and businessmen engaged in it. Berlin has condemned Washington's attempts to disrupt the pipeline's construction.

Russia insists that the Nord Stream 2 is a purely economic endeavor and vows to finish the construction soon.