The special representative of the US Department of state for energy Amos Hochstein believes that in the case of implementation of gas project Nord stream-2″ the Ukrainian economy will collapse.
Talking with the journalist of the Slovak newspaper EurAktiv, Hochstein said that, as soon as Ukraine will lose its status as a transit country for Russian gas, it will lose revenues in the amount of two billion dollars. “You are taking our two billion dollars of income from the shaky economy of Ukraine at the moment when the international community is trying economically to support Kiev. As you recover from this? The answer is simple — no way. The economy will collapse,” — said the official.
He added that he does not believe that Russia is trying to harm Slovakia, but Moscow, it seems, does not think about it”. The Hochstein reminded that Bratislava receives annually a billion dollars from the transit of Russian natural gas, and in the event of termination of the existing contract budget of Slovakia will lose this income.
State Department spokesman expressed confidence that it would be a mistake to consider “Nord stream-2” as a small isolated project. According to him, he will have a great impact on the whole of Europe, and even revive the line that divided Europe during the Cold war, but not in military but in economic aspect.
“I don’t think it is in the interests of Europe and the United States,” concluded Hochstein.
Nord stream — 2″ involves the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic sea to Germany. In early may, U.S. Secretary of state John Kerry said that the United States is concerned about the project and believe that the pipeline will have a negative impact on Eastern Europe.
Earlier, the Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RIA Novosti that “Nord stream — 2” — a purely commercial project, attempts to block it are political in nature, and the United States through their very close friends in NATO are trying to create difficulties.
