BERLIN, July 23. /TASS/. The deal that the United States and Germany reached on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is better than attempts to destroy the project, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Deutsche Welle, published on Friday.
"Even though we don’t like certain wordings and there also are various disclaimers about sanctions, it is still better than attempts to destroy the project, which is so important for Europe and is almost completed," Medvedev emphasized.
In response to a question about possible sanctions, Medvedev said: "If someone introduces sanctions, we will survive them." As for allegations about Germany’s energy dependence on Russia, he noted that "if Germany depends on Russian gas supplies, then Russia depends on market prices and export volumes."
The Russian Security Council’s deputy chairman pointed out that Nord Stream 2 was a commercial project. "At some point, our interests collided with those of the United States who decided that it would profit more from supplying its liquefied natural gas to Europe," he said. According to him, the US then started to put pressure on the situation surrounding the Nord Stream 2 project. "In my view, it’s largely determined by US economic interests and the use of unfair competition methods on the European market," Medvedev stressed.
On Wednesday, the United States and Germany struck an agreement on the Nord Stream 2 project. In particular, Washington acknowledged that sanctions would not stop its implementation, and Berlin pledged to seek an extension of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said that Nord Stream 2 is 99% complete and it is impossible to stop its construction. At the same time, the US authorities reserved the right to take action in response to "Russia's use of energy as a geopolitical weapon in Europe" and "aggression against Ukraine," the Department of State said.