Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline Should be Halted, Says Foreign Minister

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser stated in an interview with German daily Die Welt that it is in the EU's best interests to stop work on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline expansion project, since its construction serves Russia's geopolitical interests.

Nord Stream 2, like its predecessor Nord Stream, is projected to run under the Baltic Sea from the terminal in Russia [in the case of Nord Stream 2 at Ust Luga between St. Petersburg and the Estonian border - ed] and supply gas to western Europe.

"I make no secret of the fact that I do not like this project. It's not an economic project, but a geopolitical one. It is in contradiction with the principles of the EUs energy policy. It is leverage for Russia to intervene in European politics," Mr. Mikser said in the interview yesterday, Monday.

On being asked whether, given the geopolitical situation together with the fact that US President Donald Trump also opposes the building of the new pipeline, German policy, hitherto in favour of the project, is at odds with the current of opinion, Mr. Mikser noted that a change in German thinking on the issue seems to be in the air.

Chancellor Angela Merkel recently acknowledged the political implications of the pipeline, he said.

When asked about the apparent growing rift between the EU and America, in the light of President Trump's recent comments about the EU in particular, Mr. Mikser remained sanguine about US-EU relations, noting that differences were ones of tactical details rather than first principles.

"We follow international law under the same understanding that the US does,'' Mikser said.

''We have a commonality of interests and positions with the US in many areas, but Russia, by contrast, has used military power to influence events in other countries, something we must not ignore or forget."

 Courtesy: https://news.err.ee