Berlin, December 26 - Neftegaz.RU. Following a last-ditch effort by the United States to stop Nord Stream 2 through imposing sanctions against companies involved in the construction of the nearly finished gas pipeline, Germany has remained surprisingly calm and refrained from any direct countermeasures.
Although German Chancellor Angela Merkel was critical of the U.S. sanctions, she avoided any radical responses such as punitive measures on U.S. companies in return and is instead seeking to find a solution through negotiations.
"I see no other option than to hold talks, but very firm talks," Merkel said last week, noting "we are against extraterritorial sanctions."
Following the U.S. sanctions, offshore service provider Allseas, a main contractor in laying the pipes for Nord Stream 2 which is headquartered in Switzerland, immediately announced to suspend its Nord Stream 2 pipelay activities.
Despite the intervention in the construction process by the U.S. government which would cause an almost certain delay, the operators of Nord Stream and Russian officials are keen to finish the pipeline project.
The Nord Stream 2 consortium stated that "together with our partner companies we are working to complete the project as soon as possible."
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Germany keeps its cool over U.S. sanctions on Nord Stream 2