Ambassador Anatoly Antonov calls the US blocking of Nord Stream 2 a defeat for Europe more so than Russia.
Russian ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov said in a TV interview on Wednesday that Europe s current woes with natural gas supplies are due to US pressure to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from coming online. He said that the US won not so much over Russia, but rather over European industry, which now has to rely on more expensive American molecules of freedom. Antonov told Russia on Wednesday that it was not true how much Washington tried to present Russia as an unreliable supplier. The problems of our buyers began only as a result of the sanctions and restrictions imposed by the US, according to the ambassador. We are ready to sell to everyone who needs inexpensive and high-quality resources. He cited the example of Nord Stream 2, the pipeline under the Baltic Sea that was supposed to deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany. It was completed last year but Berlin halted its certification in February due to the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine, and refused to make it operational despite appeals from German industry and local officials to do so.
Antonov said the pipeline was ready to launch and could solve almost all the supply problems that arise with Nord Stream 1 due to the sanctions confusion. The EU states just need to press the button and the pipeline will start working. The only thing missing is political will. They gave in to pressure from the White House in the EU capitals. A bet was made on expensive LNG. The US exports liquefied natural gas in quantities that aren't enough for the European market. Antonov made a pointed reference to the US Department of Energy calling it molecules of freedom back in 2019.
Nord Stream 2 was a victory for Washington, which struck a huge blow not so much against Russia, but against European competitiveness, Antonov said.
Antonov pointed out that such attempts would backfire, as there would be a realignment of commodity markets not in favor of Western countries, as the US and its allies are trying to impose a price cap on Russian oil and gas exports. Antonov said that the US attempts to divide the energy markets into good and bad leads to destabilization, rising fuel prices and inflation.