Report: Germany considers 4 options for Nord Stream-2 pipeline

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (PRIME) -- The German government is working on four courses of actions for the Nord Stream-2 pipeline to reach a compromise with the U.S., including temporary suspension of construction that would gain time for negotiations, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday.

According to Handelsblatt, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has submitted a report to the U.S. congress that 18 companies refused to participate in the Nord Stream-2 project. Still, the report is not as damaging to the pipeline as the project’s critics hoped it would be, and the negotiations were going on with the German government at a high level.

The business daily said that not only Washington, but Berlin as well wants to end the dispute. Under one of the options that Berlin is considering, Washington will refrain from sanction threats if the pipeline’s threat to Ukraine is eliminated or at least reduced. The option includes a mechanism of shutting down the pipeline if Russia suspends gas transit through Ukraine.

Another option is to freeze construction for the time of negotiations, but what the parties would do with the free time is unclear. The U.S. Department of State is discussing creation of a commission to develop practical solutions that will include European experts.

The third option foresees provision of investment help to Ukraine, which should soften Washington’s position, while under the fourth course of action, construction will continue in spite of all attempts to stop it, Handelsblatt reported.

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 builds the pipeline together with Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall Dea, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.

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