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Germany Not Planning to Respond to US Sanctions on Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline

© Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev / Go to the mediabankNord Stream 2
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BERLIN (Sputnik) - Berlin is not planning to respond to any US sanctions placed on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite disagreeing with the US position that the involvement in the project poses a threat to NATO, Germany’s Federal Cabinet said in a document on Monday.

“The government will not initiate the discussion of retaliatory measures, diplomatic sanctions or entry bans against those responsible for the Nord Stream 2 sanctions. The government believes that such measures are not useful. Additionally, the government draws attention to the fact that countermeasures to sanctions can only be introduced in agreement with the European Union,” the cabinet document reads.

At the same time, lawmakers reiterated their rejection of international sanctions and expressed their belief that the involvement in the gas project does not pose a risk to NATO.

“The federal government does not share the view that German policy towards Nord Stream 2 threatens NATO,” the cabinet document said.

In February, US President Donald Trump voiced his approval to levy sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project, a 745-mile-long twin pipeline that will carry nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of gas annually. The project is a joint venture between Russia’s Gazprom and five other companies, including Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall.

The Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture between Russia's Gazprom and five European companies. The 745-mile-long twin pipeline will carry up to 1.942 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden. Washington has long been opposing the project, while trying to promote its liquefied natural gas to the European market.

Washington imposed sanctions on the project in December, and Swiss contractor Allseas almost immediately suspended the construction of the gas pipeline. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in January that the pipeline should be finished by 2021, or by the first quarter of next year at the latest.

 

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