Russia and Germany are interested in the Nord Stream 2 (NP-2) pipeline project; the case of the murder of Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili should not affect the prospects for establishing a dialogue between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. This was announced on Thursday, December 16, by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“The project is of great interest to all European consumers. This episode is unpleasant, but we believe that this should in no way affect the prospects for establishing a dialogue between Putin and the new chancellor, “Peskov said.
Commenting on the court’s verdict against Vadim Sokolov (Krasikov), who was found guilty of the murder of Khangoshvili by the Berlin High Court, the Russian leader’s press secretary stressed that Moscow categorically disagrees with “such a conclusion and such a wording.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, said that the verdict against Sokolov “has the character of an explicit political order.” The ministry stressed that they are disappointed with the expulsion of Russian diplomats, which Germany carried out “under the pretext” of the verdict that was passed on to Sokolov.
The Foreign Ministry called this step “another unfriendly action” against Moscow.
On the eve, the official representative of the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced that the Russian Federation would soon announce its reciprocal steps to Berlin to expel diplomats.
On December 12, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that the SP-2 could not be approved at the moment, as it does not yet comply with the requirements of European law in the field of energy.
At the same time, Tino Krupalla, a member of the Bundestag International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia that Berbock was acting contrary to the country’s interests in putting the pipeline into operation.
On November 16, the German regulator suspended the certification of Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent operator of Nord Stream 2. The procedure can be continued when a subsidiary company for the German part of the pipeline is created in Germany. The German Ministry of Energy called the suspension of certification a regulatory issue and an intermediate stage in this procedure, adding that this will not affect the energy supply of Germany.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
