US could buy Nord Stream – Vucic
The sabotaged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could become the property of a US investor in a year, and gas supplies from Russia to the EU could be resumed through the connector, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has suggested.
Vucic shared his view about the future of the pipeline in an interview with the German news outlet Handelsblatt published on Friday.
“I dare to predict: In a year at the latest, Nord Stream will be owned by an American investor, and gas will flow from Russia to Europe through the pipeline,” the Serbian leader said. “Mark my words. One year until Nord Stream is up and running!”
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that US financier and investor Stephen Lynch had asked permission from the US Treasury Department to buy the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, if it is put up for auction next year.
The pipeline, which was built to deliver Russian gas to Germany and the rest of Western Europe, was ruptured by explosions in the Baltic Sea in September 2022.
Lynch proposed that a deal for the Russian pipeline could be seen as a strategic opportunity for long-term US interests. Ownership of the pipeline would give the American government a tool to exert pressure in any peace negotiations with Russia to end the Ukraine conflict, he told the WSJ.
Lynch reportedly said he could buy the Nord Stream 2, which has been valued at around $11 billion, for “pennies on the dollar,” adding that it would be a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the US to take control over the EU’s energy supply.
While no one has claimed responsibility for the 2022 attack on the pipeline, Western media outlets have reported that a special operations team linked to Ukraine were behind the operation. US reporter Seymour Hersh has claimed that the US Navy set explosives on the pipeline during NATO exercises in the Baltic, and that the order to destroy the gas connectors was given by President Joe Biden.
Most recently, a Danish harbor master has told the Politiken outlet that he had sailed out to the site of the blast and encountered US warships in the area of the explosion, but with their transponders switched off.
Moscow claims that Western intelligence services, particularly those of the US, were directly involved in the sabotage. American firms have benefited from the attack due to their position as suppliers of liquefied natural gas to Europe.
The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said last month that his agency had information about the “direct involvement” of professionals from the US and British special services in the Nord Stream sabotage. London and Washington, as well as Kiev, have denied any involvement.
