Putin spox: Opposition to Nord Stream-2 breaks competition rules

MOSCOW, Jun 18 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Nord Stream-2 project is purely commercial, and opposition to it would mean violation of principles and rules of free competition, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko said that Kiev planned to create a group in the E.U. that would work to stop construction of the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline as Ukraine sees it as a political move with the goal of depriving the country’s budget of U.S. $3 billion a year.

“We know that some countries express their discontent. But we will say again that the project is solely commercial, it has no political basis, and opposing it will undoubtedly be, let’s say, violation of principles and norms of free competition,” Peskov said.

The Nord Stream-2 is an international project aimed at ensuring energy security of Europe, he added.

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. Gazprom will implement the project together with its European partners – Shell, OMV, Engie, Uniper, and Wintershall.

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