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Russian diplomat slams attempts to politicize Nord Stream project

SOCHI, November 1. /TASS/. Attempts to politicize the Nord Stream 2 project are a manifestation of unfair competition, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

"Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project. Attempts to politicize it and artificially find some legal clues to call something into question, to attract some additional actors to discuss what can and should be done with regard to Nord Stream is nothing more than a manifestation of unfair competition," he stressed. "I will not be surprised if, in the absence of some additional formal decisions, the US will push ahead with its vigorous efforts openly and behind closed doors against the Nord Stream project."

"This is part of their policy, they do not hesitate to say that in broad daylight. We will be telling them openly and unambiguously that we will proceed from common sense and economic expediency," the senior diplomat stressed.

"We will call a spade a spade without hesitation when it is necessary, like in this situation, stressing that the American policy is dictated by the moves, which are entirely different from the ones they are trying to put at the forefront. This is a purely egoistic, provocative course towards the rest of the international community, which is based on the conviction of their own exceptionalism and the ability to do anything in the international arena," Ryabkov said.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to come into service at the end of 2019. The pipeline is set to run from the Russian coast along the Baltic Sea bed to the German shore. Each of the pipeline’s two stretches will have a capacity of 27.5 bln cubic meters. The new pipeline that is expected to connect the Russian resource base with European customers, will double the capacity of the first line and will basically follow its route.