Nord Stream 2
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas responded to calls from German politicians to stop the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. He shared his opinion on Saturday, October 17, in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.
The minister expressed confidence that the Nord Stream 2 will be built anyway. “The question is when. We make decisions about our energy policy and supply here in Europe, ”Maas said.
The diplomat recalled that the United States “more than doubled oil imports from Russia last year and is now the second largest importer of Russian heavy oil in the world.” In addition, the United States is “exercising its right to an independent energy policy.” “We do that too,” he added.
After the incident with Alexei Navalny, several German politicians called for the introduction of sanctions against everyone involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The United States supported the idea, since such a project could allegedly increase Germany's dependence on Russia. For this reason, it is important to stop its construction, Washington said.
On October 15, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas explained that six Russians, including FSB director Alexander Bortnikov, were included in the sanctions list due to the fact that they could be “considered responsible” for what happened to Navalny.
Earlier it became known that the European Union introduced restrictive measures against the head of the Russian president's internal policy department Andrei Yarin, the deputy defense minister of Russia Alexei Krivoruchko and Pavel Popov, as well as the presidential envoy to the Siberian federal district, Sergei Menyailo. These persons are prohibited from entering the territory of the European Union, their financial assets in European banks are frozen. In addition, sanctions are being introduced against the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT) – European entrepreneurs are prohibited from maintaining any relationship with it.
