"The introduction of illegal restrictions is growing": the Russian Federation commented on the sanctions against the pipelayer "Nord Stream - 2"

Russia is closely monitoring the situation in order to continue consistent work on the finalization of the Nord Stream 2 project, said the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

“Moscow regrets that the introduction of illegal restrictions is growing and the project is facing severe pressure from Washington,” he commented on the sanctions against the participants in the construction of the pipeline.

On January 19, the United States imposed sanctions on the Fortuna vessel involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, as well as against the KBT Rus company, which owns the pipelayer.

In addition, restrictive measures have been introduced against the Russian-based company Rustanker and the vessel Maxim Gorky.

It should be reminded that Nord Stream 2 is two gas pipeline strings with a length of over 1200 km each and a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters.

m per year.

The pipes run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of five countries: Russia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Germany.

The United States has repeatedly opposed the construction of Nord Stream 2, calling the pipeline a threat to Europe's energy independence.

As an alternative, the United States offered European states to purchase American LNG.

One of the stages of the US confrontation against Nord Stream 2 was the signing by the head of the White House, Donald Trump, of the country's defense budget for the next fiscal year.

One of the points of the document was the sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream pipelines.

Subsequently, the Swiss company Allseas, which was laying the gas pipeline, stopped work, saying that it did not plan to return to the construction of the pipeline.

In this regard, Gazprom decided to lay the gas pipeline on its own.

So, in December 2020, a 2.6 km section was laid in the exclusive economic zone of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs from the Republic of Crimea, believes that new sanctions will not interfere with the construction of the gas pipeline, since US actions were expected.

“That is why these vessels were acquired to counter the US sanctions policy.

In addition, the owner has changed there, so this will not affect in any way.

What they come up with new, we'll see, although, it seems to me, everyone already understands that not only we are interested in the completion of Nord Stream 2, but also the Europeans, ”the senator said in an interview with RT.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Igor Ananskikh noted that the order has already been given to the pipelayer, it is working.

“Great grief, he won't be able to work in the California or Florida area for the US government.

The owners of this pipelayer will survive this problem, ”the deputy told an RT correspondent.

Director of the Energy Development Fund Sergei Pikin, in turn, said that we are talking about the application of sanctions approved earlier.

“These sanctions concerned ships that were going to complete the construction of Nord Stream 2.

It’s very surprising that they didn’t do it back in December, when Fortuna was doing the same in German waters.

In a month and a half, they apparently “saw the light” that it is no longer just there, ”the expert said in an interview with an RT correspondent.

Pikin suggested that Fortuna and the companies against which the sanctions were applied were ready for this today.

"From the point of view of the functioning of the completion process, nothing threatens, because these companies do not have accounts in the United States," the analyst concluded.

Political pressure on the project

In a memorandum for investors on the company's new Eurobonds, Gazprom warned of the risks for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project due to political pressure.

This is reported by TASS with reference to the memorandum for the new placement of bonds of the holding.

The report says that in the implementation of projects such as "Turkish Stream" and "Nord Stream - 2", the company is faced with "risks associated with changes in the political situation in various regions."

Gazprom noted that such phenomena lead to "tension between countries" and a change in the positions of partners and regulatory bodies in relation to various aspects of projects.

“In some cases, such changes may lead to the fact that the implementation of the project will become impossible or impractical, and therefore lead to the suspension or cancellation of the project,” the document says.

Note that earlier, the head of Gazprom Export, Elena Burmistrova, also mentioned political pressure on large projects.

“Investments in our industry are facing serious political pressure today, especially in Europe,” Burmistrova said in a video message to the Gaidar Forum.