By Tim Korso /Sputnik News/ – The joint project by Russia’s Gazprom and European energy giants has faced harsh criticism and pressure from the US, who is demanding that the EU ditch the pipeline and buy American or other foreign LNG instead, threatening sanctions otherwise.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline doesn’t face the risk of being unused as EU countries are interested in it, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with the TV channel Rossiya 1. He stressed that the pipeline is in full compliance with European laws and that all of the issues it faces are related to competition with the US over gas markets.
“It is simply a competition on the part of American partners who want to sell their liquefied natural gas [LNG] to Europe. So, in essence, we’re witnessing non-market methods of competition [on their part]”, Novak said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak further said he has no doubt that Nord Stream 2 will be completed despite attempts by the US to stop it. He noted that the pipeline is 95% ready.
