Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Meseberg on August 18, where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, informed that Russia is ready to fully finance the Nord Stream-2, if the US introduces sanctions against the participants of consortium realize this project. Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reports this with a reference to informed sources, according to Deutsche Welle.
Currently, the building of the Nord Stream-2 is implemented by an international consortium, 50 percent of which is owned by the Russian Gazprom. BASF Wintershall, Uniper, and Shell are among the participants of the consortium.
The US in their turn has repeatedly threatened to introduce sanctions against the energy sector of Russia as punishment for the alleged interference of Moscow in the US Presidential campaign in 2016. Western partners of Russia may also suffer from these sanctions.
Earlier, American President Donald Trump claimed that he wasn’t going to impose sanctions against the western countries for the participation in the construction of the Nord Stream-2.
The construction of the Nord Stream-2 became a topic, which recently was discussed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a joint press statement before the talks, Merkel claimed that Ukraine should remain the participant in the gas transit process to Europe after the launch of the Nord Stream-2.