Germany not to abandon Nord Stream 2

Germany does not plan to abandon the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite U.S. pressure and an option to buy liquefied gas from the United States. President of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (Federation of German Industries e. V., BDI) Dieter Kempf says that the country's economy stands for the second channel for ensuring reliable gas supplies, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported, according to the Ukrainian-language service of Germany's Deutsche Welle (DW). The official criticized third countries' interference in the energy supplies to Germany. It is the German state that decides on the need for another source of supplies, Kempf said. In his opinion, the low price of the liquefied gas offered by the U.S. does not mean anything, as it still needs to be delivered across the Atlantic. An international consortium, with a 50% stake belonging to Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, is now engaged in the construction of Nord Stream 2. Among the consortium participants are BASF's Wintershall, Uniper, and Royal Dutch Shell. In June, U.S. President Donald Trump called Germany a hostage of Russia, referring to the construction of Nord Stream 2. In his words, Germany counts on safeguarding from Russia, but concludes very large oil and gas deals with Moscow and pays it billions of dollars annually. The United States has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions against Russia's energy sector due to Moscow's alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Western partners of Russia may also suffer from the sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said that Russia was ready to fully finance the construction of the gas pipeline if the U.S. imposed sanctions against consortium members implementing the project. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in his part says that Nord Stream 2 is a geopolitical tool of Russia's pressure on Western Europe.

Germany not to abandon Nord Stream 2

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