Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.19
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline probably will not be finished in 2019, as planned, Bruce Pannier, US expert on Central Asia and energy issues, told Trend Dec.19.
He was commenting on the decision recently made by Sweden’s Gotland Region and Karlshamn municipality to reject signing a deal with the Nord Stream 2.
The expert pointed out that this decision is going to slow down the construction of the pipeline.
Since Sweden’s defense and foreign ministries, for security reasons, were against the plan to use harbors in Gotland to store pipes for the Nord Stream 2 project, it is safe to assume that no Swedish territory will agree to be a part of the project, according to Pannier.
The expert reminded that Nord Stream 2 and the project’s contractor Wasco Coatings have already said they are looking for alternative facilities in the Baltic Sea, but they are unlikely to find any place as suitable as Gotland.
Sweden's strategic Baltic Sea island of Gotland recently turned down a Russian request to rent harbor space after the government warned it could harm the Scandinavian country's defense and political interests.
In an 11-0 vote, Gotland's technical board declined Dec.15 to allow Russia's energy giant Gazprom to store pipes in the Slite harbor for an undersea natural gas pipeline that will run from Russia to Germany called Nord Stream 2.
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