"If you want to kill the LNG strategy go ahead with Nord Stream," EurActiv quoted the former US ambassador to Azerbaijan as saying. Morningstar was referring to the EU's stated commitment to boost imports of liquefied natural gas as part of its energy security and diversification strategy.
The Nord Stream project offers Russia direct access to Germany's energy markets via the Baltic Sea, bypassing unreliable transit routes. Despite claims to the contrary, it helps to improve European energy security, since it would help to mitigate possible gas supply disruptions that could be caused by the Ukrainian civil war.
Last week, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy Robin Dunnigan also commented on the Nord Stream 2 project.
"I think every country has to also look at Nord Stream 2 in the context of… does it meet the (EU's) stated goals of diversification? And if it doesn't, then I think countries would need to take a second look," he observed.
Earlier this month, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller reaffirmed that the project would be completed in three years.
In late January, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told the Polish government that Berlin would give the Nord Stream 2 project the green light. Poland and several other Eastern European nations have opposed the idea.
