US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sandland Tuesday, speaking at a think tank the European policy centre in Brussels on issues of transatlantic trade, touched upon the construction of Russian gas pipeline through the Baltic sea into the European Union «2 Nord stream«. He warned about new sanctions, who can enter the United Statesto try to block the construction: «We have not used a complete set of tools that would significantly undermine, if not to stop this project.»
USA haven’t used a full set of tools that would significantly undermine, if not stop and the thread 2. source: flickr/CC/JanChr
Geofieldnical threat pipe
2 Nord stream (Nord Stream 2) — the gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany, which is being built under the Baltic sea. The total capacity of the pipeline should amount to about 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The beginning of the operation of the pipeline is scheduled for late 2019. In August , US President, Donald trump declared that the implementation of the draft EU energy even more tied to Moscow and signed a new sanctions against Russian Gazprom is directly involved in the construction geopolitically dangerous pipeline.
Consistently against the building act Eastern European countries geographically closest to Russia and Ukraine, already facing the Russian aggression, while not wishing occurrence of the Northern competitor for another gas pipeline from Russia to the EU, stretching across its territory.
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for its part, has repeatedly said that Berlin considers «Nord stream 2» as a purely commercial. Germany is the final destination of the pipeline, and the key consumer of Russian gas, which may come, and many here would like that Nord stream was completed.
Germany and the United States different approaches to the construction of Nord stream 2, the Reaction from Moscow, Berlin and Kiev
The head of the Russian Gazprom, Alexei Miller, commenting on the speech of Sandland the newspaper «Kommersant» Boudreau said: «You can see for yourself: we have already built 200 kilometers. And we’ll finish the rest in all conditions». Ukrainian UNIAN today also lamented that Sandland, talking about possible new U.S. sanctions, said nothing specific, and it may not frighten the participants of the construction. However, the publication claims that behind the scenes discussed the possibility of sanctions against non-Russian large multinational companies, one way or another involved in the project, and it may indeed prove to be an effective measure.
According to other versions, the US can link the gas issue with other problems existing between the United States and the European Union, by creating opportunities for bargaining or pressure.
So the German Der Tagesspiegel drew attention of its readers that the issue of «North stream» was raised by the American Ambassador at the forum, which discussed the transatlantic trade partnership as a whole, including the sensitive issues of tariffs and agricultural products. Speaking as an expert of the edition the Deputy of the European Parliament from the CDU Galleys warns that the EU should not «argue with the United States on too many fronts, especially where it is difficult to argue with. Somewhere it is better to give. This can be attributed to Nord stream. The participants of the project, such as Wintershall and Shell be ready to compromise». Angela Merkel also touched the topic of the pipeline, suggested that opponents of the pipeline will be less, if there are established guarantees for Ukraine on maintaining the same volume of gas supplies via the pipeline. In the end, Putin «will see that he can’t bypass Ukraine», — predicts the Galleys.
The United States argued that Nord stream 2 for them — not commercial, and geo-strategic issue of security of Europe, and will continue to oppose the construction ofGeopolitics or business?
But these assumptions can be questioned, as the US repeatedly mouths of various politicians claimed for them and the thread is the question of security and is above commercial interests not only in Kiev, the EU, and their. So Criticism of the United States often share the assumption that Donald trump, in opposing the Nord stream, primarily pursues the interests of American business in the supply of liquefied natural gas to Europe, which could hurt Russia’s new gas pipeline. But American politics, discussing Severy flow, even moving from the economic vocabulary in the army, and begin to talk about markets and prices, and on the front and the flanks.
Our opposition to projects like the #NordStream2 pipeline is very longstanding. It is based on geostrategic concerns and not on U.S. LNG sales. Nord Stream threatens 2 #transatlantic security by making Europe’s eastern flank more vulnerable to #Russia. #EpcUSEU pic.twitter.com/3QjegtU9Hc
— Ambassador Sondland (@USAmbEU) November 13, 2018
And Gordon Sandland again yesterday confirmed this, writing in the end of the day after all the talks on his Twitter «Our opposition to such projects as the pipeline 2 Nord stream (Nord Stream 2), the long-term. And it is based on the geo-strategic interests, not on the problems of the LNG sales in the United States. Nord stream threatens transatlantic security, makes the Eastern flank of Europe more vulnerable to Russia.»
