Kremlin hopes for Nord Stream-2 completion despite US sanctions

MOSCOW, Dec 23 (PRIME) -- The U.S. sanctions against the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline, which is being built to carry gas from Russia to Germany are inadmissible and will not stop completion of the facility, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

“We assume that such sanctions are unacceptable for us, and, of course, we hope that even such steps will not become a hindrance to completion of construction of this important project,” he said.

Peskov also said that the client is now analyzing changing the builder of the pipeline, Switzerland’s Allseas, for another contractor.

“The situation is being analyzed, and the main goal of the analysis is completion of the pipeline,” he said.

Russia will retaliate against the sanctions when it is preferable for its national interests, Peskov added.

“How and when it will be done is an issue of Russia’s national interests. As soon as it matches the national interests of our state mostly,” he said.

On December 21, Allseas suspended operations on the project due to the threat of U.S. sanctions and withdrew all its vessels engaged in laying the pipeline from the Baltic Sea after U.S. President Donald Trump had signed a defense budget envisaging spending on counteraction against Russia in various areas including sanctions against the Nord Stream-2.

The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a natural gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russian gas giant Gazprom is implementing the project together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.

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