Matthias Warnig, the head of the “Nord stream-2” operator Nord Stream 2 AG, said in an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper that Washington violated the agreements on the construction of the gas pipeline.
According to him, for the adoption of the project, the United States requires concessions. As an example, Warnig cited the position of Germany, which insisted that gas transit through Ukraine should be protected even after the construction is completed. As a result, in 2019, Moscow and Kyiv signed an agreement that guarantees the transit of 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually until the end of 2024.
“The Russians were not thanked for this. The Russians made advance payments — and, although the transit agreement was concluded, the United States subsequently forced the suspension of work on the pipeline with its sanctions. This showed how unpredictable American policy can be, and also undermined Russia’s trust,” Warnig explained.
The head of Nord Stream 2 AG also stated the risk of introducing new United States sanctions against the gas pipeline.
“They detained us for a year and a half, which cost us hundreds of millions,” he concluded. The construction of the “Nord stream-2” is close to completion. At the beginning of June, the laying of the first thread was technically completed.
The opponents of the project are Kyiv, which is afraid of losing revenue from the transit of Russian gas through its territory, as well as the United States, which is trying to promote its LNG to the European Union. Moscow has repeatedly urged to stop politicizing the situation, reminding that the gas pipeline is beneficial to both Russia and the European Union.
