Russia will mirror US sanctions against the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, during a weekly briefing.
“I won’t say what the response of the Russian side will look specifically, but, as you have heard from Russian officials at various levels, we always respond to such unfriendly attacks,” she said. “Unfortunately, this approach, which is called symmetrical, mirror, has not been canceled.”
According to Zakharova, it raises questions about how US policy relates to international law and the principles of free competition.
“Even 10 years ago we were told that in no case should the energy component be linked to politics, these are two different options. God forbid, Russia will link its national interests or international approaches with the energy sector, this is impossible. And now it turns out that it’s not that it’s possible, but it’s also necessary to do so, from the point of view of Washington, ”the diplomat said.
Recall, we are talking about sanctions against foreign companies that participate in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe, which runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The US Congress introduced restrictions on the draft defense budget for 2020, and at the end of December, President Donald Trump signed it.
Thus, Washington expects to stop construction - European companies involved in pipe laying are threatened by blocking transactions and a ban on cooperation with American companies. For example, we are talking about the Swiss company Allseas, whose ship is involved in this project. At the moment, the company has suspended work.
The fact that Russia can respond to US sanctions was previously discussed in the Kremlin. According to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, retaliatory measures will be introduced when it will be more in line with the interests of Moscow.
“In any case, such steps do not remain without reciprocity,” he explained. - How and when it will be done is a question more likely of Russia's national interests. When it will be in a great way in line with national interests. ”
At the same time, the United States will not be able to stop the construction of Nord Stream-2 through sanctions, Peskov noted on December 26. So he commented on reports that Russia has its own pipe layer.
“I will not give you specifics,” he told reporters. “But there really are certain capacities that allow us to hope that we can complete the work in the foreseeable future.”
The fact that sanctions will not prevent the construction of Nord Stream-2, said the head of the RF Ministry of Energy Alexander Novak.
“Regardless of the sanctions, the pipeline will be completed, it remains to lay a little less than 160 km of pipe,” he said in an interview with RBC.
The construction of the pipeline is at the final stage, the United States will not be able to stop it, said Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In a conversation with RT, he noted that relations between Europe and the United States are the only ones that will be under attack.
“The point of no return has been overcome. Sanctions, this dictate from Washington, will strike only at transatlantic relations, split the divided West even more, ”he noted.
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“A serious problem for the whole world”
US sanctions concern not only Russia, but the whole world, said RF Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin in an interview with RT. He told about this, answering the question about the construction of Nord Stream 2.
“I would like to draw your attention to the issue of extraterritorial sanctions by the United States. This is a serious problem for the whole world; not only us, but Europeans think so. For example, recently, within the framework of the Russian-French intergovernmental commission, we discussed this issue with the Minister of Economics and Finance Bruno Le Mer, ”said Oreshkin.
According to the Russian minister, Le Mayor openly stated that "such actions by the United States are unacceptable."
Germany had a similar position. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Berlin is opposed to the practice of extraterritorial sanctions.
“We are against extraterritorial sanctions, and this is not since the decision yesterday, but with Iran we have the same problem. I also see no other option but to negotiate, but to negotiate resolutely that we do not accept this practice, that these extraterritorial sanctions have an impact, we will see how things will develop around Nord Stream 2, ”she said RIA News.
The nature of such statements is atypical for relations between Germany and the United States, and therefore we can talk about the serious impact of sanctions, says Yury Post, professor at the Department of Comparative Political Science of the RUDN University.
“The statements themselves are quite harsh and unacceptable to the American position - this is already a serious thing in relations between long-standing allies,” he told RT. - I do not think that Germany will impose retaliatory sanctions, but dissatisfaction is growing and it becomes obvious. The United States, in the end, will have to understand that there are limits to its aggressive policies. ”