U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry explained the United States’ possible anti-Russian sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
He expressed doubt that any concrete decisions had been made so far, however did not rule out the possibility of introducing such sanctions.
Perry said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper that neither the United States nor Russia would like to reach the escalation point when sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project could be imposed.
"Secretary Perry made clear that while the United States welcomes competition with Russia in energy markets across Europe, Asia and elsewhere, Moscow can no longer use energy as an economic weapon," the U.S. Energy Department said in its statement. "The United States is now in a position to offer these nations an alternative source of supply," CNBC cited the statement as saying
Earlier, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak expressed concern over U.S. statements on possible sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
