VIENNA, February 17. /TASS/. The implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is in the focus of the energy dialogue between Austria and Russia, enjoying mutual political support, Russia’s Ambassador to Austria Dmitry Lyubinsky said on Wednesday.
"The energy companies of Gazprom and OMV have been closely cooperating for over 50 years, and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, in which Austria is an active investor, remains, with political support from both sides, in the focus of the Russian-Austrian energy dialogue," the ambassador said at an online conference on the Russian-Austrian relations.
Earlier, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, in an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, hailed Germany’s support for the construction of Nord Stream 2 and called it a European project that meets the interests of Europe. He noted that Austria, Germany and other European countries would benefit from its construction and warned that the European Union should not go against Nord Stream 2.
On February 3, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that Nord Stream 2 was in line with the interests of European energy security, and Russia remains an important partner in this field. The minister said that sanctions against Russia over the Alexey Navalny case should not be linked to the pipeline’s construction.
Traditionally, Austria backs the construction of Nord Stream 2, which, in its opinion, ensures the diversification of energy supplies to Europe. Gazprom’s partner in the construction of the pipeline is the Austrian oil and gas company OMV.
Nord Stream-2 is an international project for the construction of a gas pipeline that will run on the bottom of the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast to Germany. The new 1,200 kilometer pipeline’s capacity will be 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year. To date, about 93% of Nord Stream 2 has been completed.