MOSCOW – The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will go into service despite attempts to derail the project, Russia’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said in an interview with Interfax.
“We are confident that Nord Stream 2 will be completed and commissioned in spite of all the efforts on the part of our detractors to derail the project,” the first deputy foreign minister said.
“Russia, which exports gas, and many other European countries that buy our gas, above all Germany, have an interest in the new gas pipeline,” he said.
“According to all forecasts, demand in the European Union (EU) for Russian energy supplies will only grow in the foreseeable future,” Titov said.
“Regarding the EU’s Third Energy Package, as well as the new EU gas directive extending its provisions to trans-border pipelines, Germany’s federal grid agency, Bundesnetzagentur, in May this year rejected the application of Nord Stream 2 AG to withdraw the gas pipeline from their operation. However, as far as we know, the operator company intends to continue negotiations with the German authorities on this issue,” the senior Russian diplomat said.
“The option of additional adaptation of the project to EU standards remains open without significant negative consequences for it,” Titov said.
