Launch of Nord Stream 2 can and should be stopped – Naftogaz CEO

That’s according to Vitrenko’s comment to Reuters, Ukrinform reports.

"Even though it (Nord Stream 2 – ed.) may be, I don’t know, 99% complete, we still believe that it can and should be stopped. And from our side, we will be discussing what the U.S. can do in this respect, like for example U.S. sanctions against (the pipeline operator – ed.) Nord Stream AG," said Vitrenko.

According to the Naftogaz CEO, the issue of the gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany is a matter of national security for Ukraine.

"We continue underlining that it (Nord Stream 2 – ed.) is not about money for us, first and foremost, it’s about the national security of Ukraine," he stressed.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in August, Nord Stream AG, the construction operator of Nord Stream 2, lost a case in a German court to exempt the pipeline from the requirements of the EU gas directive.

Nord Stream 2 is a Russian gas pipeline being built bypassing Ukraine. It is being laid along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The project’s sole shareholder is Russia’s OJSC Gazprom.

In July, Germany and the United States reached an agreement regarding Nord Stream 2, according to which the United States would not oppose the completion of the pipe, while Germany undertook to impose sanctions on Russia if Moscow went for another round of aggression against Ukraine, as well as to assist Ukraine in energy transformation efforts.

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