Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, told reporters on Thursday that the EU countries will still require the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, regardless of what they say now.
“This is the very project that Europe will need, no matter what they say there,” he said.
The Kremlin official indicated there are no prospects for the opening of Nord Stream 2 under the existing conditions.
“Under the current conditions, of course, it would be reckless and unpromising to rest any hopes on this, given such a short-sighted position of our partners in this project, first of all [position of] Germany, perhaps” he added.
“The infrastructure of this project is ready, and will lie at the bottom of the sea for some time in working condition,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
About Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project
After Russia declared the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared on February 22 that the German government would halt licensing of the Nord Stream 2 project.
In reaction to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, US President Joe Biden instructed his government to apply sanctions on the corporation – the operator of the Nord Stream 2 AG project – and representatives of its leadership on February 23.
The Stuttgarter Zeitung claimed in late March, citing Nord Stream 2 AG’s managing director Matthias Warnig, that the project’s operator was planning to file for bankruptcy. The company denied claims that bankruptcy proceedings had begun, claiming that it had just alerted Swiss authorities about the forced termination of worker contracts.
Nord Stream 2 AG’s bankruptcy proceedings have been postponed until September 2022, according to a statement posted on the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce’s website.
Nord Stream 2’s construction was completed on September 10, 2021. It was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019, however, work was delayed owing to US sanctions. The gas pipeline is made up of two strings that stretch from Russia’s coast via the Baltic Sea to Germany, with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year.
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