LONDON, November 16. /TASS/. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believes that Europe will soon be facing a choice of whether to increase its dependency on the supplies of Russian hydrocarbons or "sticking up for Ukraine and championing the cause of peace and stability."
"I hope, that others may recognize, other European countries may recognize, that a choice is shortly coming, between mainlining ever more Russian hydrocarbons in giant new pipelines, and sticking up for Ukraine and championing the cause of peace and stability - let me put it that way," Johnson said.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called on other European countries on Saturday to boycott Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was completed in September, saying that the growing dependence on the Russian natural gas supplies may threaten the European security.
Prime Minister Johnson said, however, that Russia is a great country and called against all attempts of isolating it.
"When we say that we support the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine, that is not because we want to be adversarial to Russia, or that we want in some way strategically to encircle or undermine that great country," he continued.
"And never let it be forgotten, in this season of remembrance, that it was Russian blood that enabled us to defeat Nazism," the British premier stated.
Johnson also said that London would focus on cooperation with countries, which share its values, and explained such approach by "a commitment to democracy and freedom."
"I believe this concept of coalitions coalescing around science, and security, and values, finance and diplomacy and above all people, should be at the heart of what Global Britain is doing," he noted.
"Because it is clear that some countries are simply not going to evolve towards free market democracies and we should be clear eyed about that," the prime minister continued. "We have to deal with it, we have to manage it, we must have relations that are as friendly and pragmatic as possible."
"But the consequence is that we work ever more closely with those who do share our values and instincts," Johnson added.
Nord Stream 2 pipeline project
The Nord Stream 2 project envisaged the construction of two natural gas pipelines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.
Work on the project was suspended in December 2019 after the Swiss-based Allseas company abandoned pipe-laying operations due to possible US sanctions. In December 2020, the construction of the pipeline resumed
Russian energy giant Gazprom announced on September 10 this year that the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was fully completed. The company also stated that it expected to commission the natural gas pipeline by the end of the year. According to the gas producer, 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas may be supplied through the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline this year.