US could cash in on Nord Stream destruction — expert

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/. The destruction of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas could turn out to be a huge windfall for the United States, Alexander Ionov, a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, told TASS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RT India earlier that the US planned to restore the Nord Stream pipelines and buy them from the Europeans for next to nothing, in order to subsequently dictate its own gas prices. "Russia is a fairly serious strategic partner in terms of energy security. That’s why sensible people like Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico come to Russia to ensure their countries have a stable supply of fuel. Meanwhile, the European war party that participated in the destruction of Nord Stream pipelines shot itself in the foot. Now, the Americans will essentially be able to turn Europe’s energy crisis into another business venture. And, of course, it will be a very nice and profitable venture for them," he said. On September 26, 2022, an unprecedented terrorist attack was committed on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, resulting in only one line of Nord Stream 2 remaining intact out of the system’s four pipelines. The 1,224-kilometer Nord Stream pipeline runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Vyborg in Russia to Greifswald in Germany, with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year. Construction of the similarly powerful Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed on September 10, 2021, but the pipeline was never commissioned. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has initiated a case of international terrorism.