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Situation with Nord Stream 2 reveals Germany's lack of economic freedom — Lavrov

The construction of Nord Stream 2 was fully completed on September 10, 2021

© Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. The situation with Nord Stream 2 shows that Germany does not have the freedom to pursue its own economic interests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Channel One Russia on Thursday.

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‘Simply irrational’: Bundestag MP slams Ukrainian envoy’s demands to abandon Nord Stream 2

"As for Nord Stream 2, it’s no longer about the freedom to choose alliances, it’s simply about the freedom to carry out ordinary commercial activities on world markets. It turns out that Germany does not have any freedom to pursue its own economic interests. That’s where they, double standards, are most striking," he said.

The construction of Nord Stream 2 was fully completed on September 10, 2021. The works were initially planned to be completed by the end of 2019, though the construction was postponed due to the US’ sanctions. The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.

Moscow repeatedly emphasized that Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project, which was implemented together with its European partners. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed bewilderment that a number of countries seek to make the fate of the gas pipeline dependent on politically-motivated conditions. Russia has also repeatedly stated that it has never politically weaponized energy resources.

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