Nord Stream 2 goes to the finish line

In recent months, the passions around the notorious Nord Stream 2 project have heated up to the limit. The Western press often expressed opposite points of view: from the need to ban the Russian gas project up to opinions that the gas pipeline is beneficial to Europe taking into account the growing demand for natural gas. Of course, there were also speculations about the importance and even the obligation to preserve the transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine, as “the main condition” for the EU and the US agreeing to give a green light to the controversial project, writes Alexi Ivanov, Moscow correspondent.

In this regard, Washington and Berlin have been engaged in a tense dialogue over the past six months, looking for the best arguments for approving Nord Stream 2. Chancellor Merkel held rather tough and pragmatic talks with President Biden in Washington some time ago, which allowed the parties to find the best formula to justify their approaches to the project. As a result, Nord Stream 2 seems to have reached the finish line and will soon start functioning.

This is exactly the point of view that was recently voiced at the Russian Embassy in Berlin. The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechaev, told the press that “only a few weeks remain ” before the full completion of Nord Stream 2.

As the diplomat noted, the work on the pipeline is at the final stage. “We proceed from the fact that the German-American agreement will not affect the pace of construction and the timing of completion of the Nord Stream 2,” he said.

At the same time, Nechaev added that the agreement between Washington and Berlin does not carry any specific obligations for Russia.

Nord Stream 2 is a 99 percent completed pipeline from Russia to Germany with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The construction has already reached the final stage and should be completed by the end of summer. In June, Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of Nord Stream 2, announced that the construction of the offshore part of the first branch of the gas pipeline was technically completed, and commissioning work on filling the pipeline with gas will take several more months.

Earlier, Berlin and Washington issued a joint statement noting that for the project to be implemented, it is necessary to ensure the continuation of transit through Ukraine after 2024. Germany also pledged to seek sanctions against Russia “if the Kremlin uses energy exports as a weapon”.

Moscow has repeatedly urged to stop politicizing the situation, reminding that the gas pipeline is beneficial not only to Russia, but also to the European Union, and emphasizing that it has never used energy resources as an instrument of pressure.

President Vladimir Putin has more than once stressed that the Nord Stream 2 is “a purely economic project”, its route is both shorter than through European countries and Ukraine, and cheaper.

Of course, it is worth recognizing that the main dissatisfied party in this whole situation remains Ukraine, which still considers Nord Stream 2 a “threat” to its economic and partly political interests. Kiev is convinced that the West has made a deal with Russia to the detriment of Ukraine’s strategic interests. It seems that President Zelensky is keen to raise this issue during his upcoming talks with President Biden in Washington at the end of August.

Nevertheless, Nord Stream 2 has almost become a reality, which will undoubtedly bring benefits to all parties involved in this large-scale project.

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