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The United States can still block the operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Washington imposes sanctions on companies involved in the Russian gas project, said Yuriy Vitrenko, CEO of state-owned energy company Naftogaz Ukraine, on Saturday.
KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – September 11, 2021) The United States can still block the operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Washington imposes sanctions on companies involved in the Russian gas project, Yuriy Vitrenko, CEO of the company of State company Naftogaz Ukraine, said on Saturday.
The statement came the next day after Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that construction of the pipeline was complete. Moscow has repeatedly stated that it will continue to rely on Ukraine’s transport capacities to pump gas to Europe in the years to come despite the construction of additional pipelines. Kiev, however, continues to support efforts to hamper the Nord Stream 2 project, which is expected to transport gas from Russia directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea, and says the pipeline threatens Ukraine’s energy security and from Europe.
“If the US government imposes sanctions on [companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 project] .
.. we believe that European companies would not buy gas from this pipeline and that it will never become operational, â€Vitrenko told the Yalta European Strategy Think Tank (YES), calling the project “symbol of Western corruption”.
The CEO of Naftogaz recalled that the Washington sanctions in 2019 may have caused the construction of the pipeline to stop, forcing the Swiss company Allseas to abandon work on the project. Construction was however resumed by the Russian pipelaying vessel Fortuna at the end of 2020.
The YES Brainstorming forum is an annual meeting organized since 2004 which brings together European leaders, other senior officials, heads of international organizations and experts. Participants discuss current global challenges and their impact on Europe and Ukraine. This year’s edition will run from September 10-11.
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