WASHINGTON, July 22. /TASS/. Sanctions threats and accusations of "malign activities" directed at Russia contained in the US-Germany joint statement on the Nord Stream 2 project are groundless, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov told journalists on Wednesday. His comments were posted on the Russian Embassy’s Facebook page.

According to the ambassador, the document causes serious questions and even incomprehension with regards to political attacks against Russia. "The hostile tonality directed at our country fundamentally contradicts the spirit of the talks of two presidents in Geneva on June 16," he stated.

"The attempts to present us as an aggressor and a country involved in "malign" activities have long become the calling card of Russophobes. The threats against us are groundless and futile," he pointed out.

The diplomat particularly noted that Moscow has proved that it is a reliable partner by long-standing honest interaction with Europe and other consumers of Russian hydrocarbons. "We’ve never inflicted our deliveries on anyone, never used our energy resources as a weapon of political pressure, nor tried to resolve by these means any opportunistic goals ascribed to us. We reject any accusations on that score. We view these attempts as nothing else but unscrupulous competition," he stressed.

 

"Russia ready to deliver as much hydrocarbons as needed"

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is the subject of commercial agreements with those countries interested in the Russian gas. As Russian Ambassador emphasized on Wednesday, Russia is ready to supply as much hydrocarbon products to consumers as they need.

"We constantly repeat: the construction of Nord Stream 2 and any other Russian export pipeline is the subject of commercial agreements with those states that are interested in our gas. Russia is ready to supply precisely as much hydrocarbons as the consumers will need," the ambassador said.

Nord Stream 2 is one of controversial subjects in relations between Washington and Berlin. Earlier, German authorities repeatedly stated that it was necessary to complete the construction. Berlin views it as an economy project yet insists that Ukraine should keep its role in the transit. Washington was against the construction and tried to block the project. On Wednesday, it was officially announced that the US and Germany have reached an agreement on Nord Stream 2.

The Russian side repeatedly stressed that Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project and is being implemented together with European partners. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed bewilderment by the attempts of a number of countries to make the destiny of the pipeline dependent on politically motivated circumstances.