December 10th local time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zaharova said at a regular press conference that the United States would not stop obstructing Russia from implementing the “North Stream-2” gas pipeline project as part of the U.S. policy of curbing Russia.
Zaharova said, “We are very clear that the United States will not stop obstructing Russia from implementing the North Stream-2 project and Russia’s foreign policy and international activities.
We have always noticed this situation. This is the so-called containment policy against Russia, which has many components. However, the construction plan of the “North Creek-2” project will not be interrupted, and the Russian side has specific plans and measures to ensure the implementation of the project.
Zaharova stressed that the United States cannot compete on the basis of universal business rules in many areas and cannot “maintain benign competition and collaboration”, so it needs to artificially create obstacles and restrictions on some countries. Russia is just the “starting point” for the United States to implement a global containment policy.
“North Stream-2” is a natural gas project of Gazprom (Russia Gas) that cooperates with several European energy companies. It does not need to transit Ukraine, Poland and other countries, but directly passes through the bottom of the Baltic Sea to Germany, and then transports it to other European countries through German trunk pipelines.
Transit countries include Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. When completed, Russia is expected to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of gas to Germany every year, which can meet 10% of Europe’s natural gas demand.
The United States has repeatedly obstructed the implementation of the project on the grounds of ensuring energy security in Europe. At the end of 2019, U.S. President Trump signed the Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020, which includes sanctions against participating enterprises in the North Stream-2 project.
In 2020, the U.S. Congress passed a new bill (effective October 1) that included expanded sanctions on the North Creek-2 project, which included all companies that provide certification, insurance and port facilities for the project.
