Russia Lavrov: Nord Stream pipelines are an issue with the USA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has confirmed talks with the USA about the unused Nord Stream gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea.
26.03.2025, 13:17
SDA
A "normal energy supply for Europe" - as he called it - is not only in the interests of the USA and Russia, the minister told Russian state television. "Nord Stream is being talked about."
It will be interesting to see "whether the Americans use their influence on Europe and force it to stop rejecting Russian gas", Lavrov told the state news agency Tass. He did not give details of the alleged talks.
Media reports about US interest in pipeline
The background to this are media reports that the commissioning of the newer Nord Stream 2 pipeline could become part of a US-Russian agreement to settle the war in Ukraine - possibly involving a US investor.
Nord Stream 2 was supposed to bring gas from Russia, formerly the most important supplier, to Germany via the Baltic Sea. But this never happened. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the German government halted the project. One of the two completed pipe strings was destroyed in an attack in September 2022, as were the two strings of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that had already been put into operation.
Foreign Minister criticizes German politicians
Lavrov criticized German politicians for rejecting Russian gas for political reasons - as he described it - and accepting higher prices for industry and consumers in return. In particular, he named Economics Minister Robert Habeck, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "They say that they will not put Nord Stream back into operation at any price. They are either sick people or suicides."
Berlin had made efforts to make Germany independent of Russian gas from 2022 due to the war in Ukraine. However, Moscow itself has stopped the supply via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
Since then, Germany has been purchasing large quantities of liquid gas from the USA. It is therefore not immediately clear why the USA should be interested in restarting the Nord Stream pipeline.
