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In reply to the discussion: Should the United States be supporting the new government of Ukraine? [View all]dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)despite the US getting the oar in back in 2008.
The U.S. ambassador to Sweden, Michael Wood, in a comment in newspaper Svenska Dagbladet warns against the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, saying that imported Russian gas is a threat against Sweden.
The article quickly triggered furore in the German government, a major stakeholder in the project. An official protest has now been sent by the Germans to U.S. authorities.
In his comment in Svenska Dagbladet, Ambassador Wood writes that Europe should not become dependent of the unreliable Russia, which sows division between countries.
The statement quickly spurred debate, both in Sweden and the other countries affected by the grand pipeline project, a joint initiative by Russian, German and Dutch energy companies.
According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has sent an official protest to the U.S. embassy in Berlin where he expresses major irritation with the U.S. interference. Russian website Newsru.com writes that the pipeline project also is met by massive opposition from Polish authorities.
http://barentsobserver.com/en/node/21422
Just found this : Nord Stream Pipeline Load Test Completed.
The industry-standard test confirms the safety and reliability of the integrated twin-pipeline gas transportation system.
The completion of the NEL-Pipeline in early November allowed for a test phase involving the connected pipelines. Since the start of operations in November 2011, Nord Stream continues to transport all the gas nominated and supplied by Gazprom Export to its downstream European partners.
http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/nord-stream-pipeline-load-test-completed/
Note also :
Nord Stream is scheduled to be completed in 2011 and to deliver the first gas after a test phase in the same year. Parts of the underwater pipeline will run through Finnish and Swedish territorial waters.
The reason Poland and Slovakia were against Nord Stream is that both get their gas from Ukraine and are acutely aware that their supply could be cut off without affecting Germany's supply.
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