The fate of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be decided in the coming weeks or months. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told about this in an interview to ntv TV channel, RIA Novosti reports.
According to him, currently no one can say what the construction problems will lead to. Among other things, Maas allowed the project to fail, he called this option one of the possible.
The diplomat noted that the administration of the new US President Joe Biden differs from its predecessors who worked with Donald Trump in that it is ready to negotiate with partners. According to him, earlier in Berlin they learned about the sanctions against Nord Stream 2 from media reports, and not through their own channels.
Maas indicated that he understands the decision of a number of European companies, which were forced to withdraw from the project due to the threat of US sanctions. He called the extraterritorial sanctions themselves wrong.
On Tuesday, January 19, the United States for the first time implemented a sanctions threat against the companies involved in the construction of the Russian gas pipeline. The barge Fortuna and its Russian owner were hit.
Against this background, Gazprom for the first time admitted that construction may be postponed indefinitely or even under exceptional circumstances stopped forever. In the latter case, the company will have to pay numerous compensation.
Germany’s hopes for Joe Biden’s coming to power are still unfounded. At least the candidate for the post of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the new team intends to complete the Trump case and finally bury the project with new sanctions.