Official: Russia to finish Nord Stream-2 in spite of US sanctions

MOSCOW, Feb 17 (PRIME) – No U.S. sanctions will stop Russia from finishing the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told PRIME on Wednesday.

“I am sure that the Nord Stream-2 will be built, and no U.S. sanctions will prevent that,” he said, adding that Moscow has already lost count of all Washington’s sanctions.

“The amount of sanction waves is getting close to one hundred. But there is no change in our course that the U.S. is seeking. Unfortunately, the U.S. doesn’t show a single small sign of readiness to look for alternative ways and for any compromise. It is unlikely to do that in the future.”

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Washington’s position toward the project had not changed, and that the U.S. still considers it a “bad deal” for Europe.

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 Uniper and Wintershall, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.

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