US Believes the Russian Federation Unable to Complete the "Nord Stream - 2"

The US Energy Secretary said that due to the lack of technology Russia will not be able to complete the construction of Nord Stream-2. He forecasted a "long delay." At the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, February 15, US Energy Secretary Dan Bruyett said Russia would not be able to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline after it was interrupted due to US sanctions. “They cannot,” he said, answering a question. Bruyett denied that US sanctions would only cause a short delay in construction. “This will be a very long delay, because Russia does not have this technology,” he said, emphasizing that he does not trust statements the construction is almost completed. The head of the Gazprom press service, Sergey Kupriyanov, in an interview with RBC commented on this statement with the words: “Never say never.” In December 2019, the United States imposed penalties on agencies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream. They include a ban on entering the United States for representatives of these companies and the freezing of any assets in the country. After sanctions entred into force, the Swiss company Allseas suspended its participation in the project. On February 9, the Russian ship-laying vessel Akademik Chersky sailed to Singapore from the port of Nakhodka, where it was undergoing modernization at the Nakhodka Shipyard. The ship, built in China, belongs to Gazprom; the company acquired it in 2015. It is assumed that Academician Chersky will be involved in completing the construction of Nord Stream 2.