China News Agency, Moscow, August 20 (Tian Bing and Liu Jingyao) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Pan Jin said on the 20th that the infrastructure of the "Beixi-2" natural gas pipeline in Russia will be used for gas in northwestern Russia.
In an interview with the TASS news agency, Pankin said that under the current circumstances, Russia has decided to use the "North Stream-2" infrastructure located on its own territory for gasification operations in the northwestern region of Russia.
"If the German side decides to put this natural gas pipeline into operation, then only one of the pipelines can be put into operation at this stage." He also pointed out that the EU has long blocked the "North Stream-2" pipeline project, and the EU passed the pipeline in 2019. The "Amendment to the Third Gas Directive" specifically targets the "North Stream-2" project, placing it in an unequal position with other natural gas pipelines and violating the legitimate interests of the project's investors.
Pankin said that Beixi-2 had completed the preparations for gas supply in December last year, but the German government, instigated by the United States, Poland and the Baltic states, temporarily froze the project.
He said that despite the deterioration of German people's lives and business development, the current EU and German leadership still refuse to start the Nord Stream-2 project.
Pan Jin said that the current amount of natural gas supplied by Russia to Europe is determined by the existing technical capabilities of the "Beixi-1" natural gas pipeline.
At present, Russia's gas transmission to Europe is limited. It is entirely due to the sanctions imposed on Russia by Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, which have blocked the maintenance and transportation of Siemens turbines at the Poltovaya compressor station of the pipeline.
Gazprom (Gazprom) issued a statement on the 19th saying that the "Beixi-1" pipeline will stop supplying from the 31st of this month because the only turbine still in operation needs to be shut down for technical inspection and preventive maintenance. gas for 3 days.
The "Beixi-2" natural gas pipeline is a cooperative project between Gazprom and five European companies. It can transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe every year. The pipeline starts from Russia in the east and reaches Germany via the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Affected by the changes in the situation in Russia and Ukraine, the German government announced on February 22 that it would suspend the certification process of the "Beixi-2" project.
Since then, many politicians in Germany have called on the government to launch the "North Stream-2" to alleviate the current energy problem, but it was rejected by German Chancellor Scholz.
A German government spokesman said that even if the energy situation further deteriorated this year, it would not approve the Nord Stream-2 project and would continue to impose sanctions on Russia.
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