Foreign Minister of Germany Heiko Maas has rejected criticism of the United States to the project of the pipeline “Nord stream — 2”. “European energy policy issues should be addressed in Europe, not in the US,” Maas said at an event of the Eastern Committee of the German economy in Berlin on Thursday, January 10. According to him, Berlin takes seriously the criticism of the project by Washington, but at the same time “Nord stream — 2” is not a “Russian-German special way”.

The head of German diplomacy believes that the introduction of unilateral sanctions against the gas pipeline would be “the wrong way”. “If German and European companies are forced out of the project, there will be no one who would insist on preserving the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine,” Maas said. Speaking about Russia, he called relations with it “the main component of European Eastern policy”. “Conflict resolution is impossible without Russia,” the Minister continued.

In turn, the Chairman of the Eastern Committee Wolfgang Büchele noted that the supply of Russian gas through Germany to Europe will ensure stable prices for this energy carrier after gas production in the Netherlands stops.

The US may impose sanctions against the “Nord stream- 2” project

The gas pipeline, which is being built by a number of Russian and European companies, should be laid along the Baltic Sea in parallel with the existing “Nord stream”. The works are planned to be completed in 2019.

In June, the US President Donald Trump called Germany ” hostage” of Russia and linked his words to Berlin with the construction of “Nord stream — 2”. On December 11, the House of Representatives of the US Congress approved a resolution in which it protested against the construction of Nord stream -2, and supported the introduction of sanctions to counter this project — in particular, against European companies involved in its implementation. The document is not binding.