One year before the launch of the Nord Stream: the President of Serbia asks to remember his words

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic predicts that Nord Stream, which suffered due to sabotage in the Baltic Sea, will be launched in a year. He stated this to the German Handelsblatt.

"I dare to make a forecast: in a year at the latest, Nord Stream will be owned by an American investor, and gas will flow through the pipeline from Russia to Europe. Mark my words. One year before the launch of the Nord Stream!" said the Serbian president.

Alexander Vucic links the big changes in world politics with the coming to power in the United States of Donald Trump, which will affect the course of the conflict on Ukraine.

"We (Europe) must perceive what is happening around us and interact with the changed world. The sooner this happens, the sooner we will recover. Take Germany. The country kept its economy competitive due to cheap gas from Russia. Now the energy transition is not happening so fast, energy in Germany is expensive. But your country urgently needs cheap energy!", the Serbian president said.

Obviously, Alexander Vucic was referring to the second Baltic gas pipeline — Nord Stream —2. Unlike the first one, one of the two threads has been preserved intact — with a capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters per year.

A month ago it became known that an investor from the United States, Stephen Lynch, asked Washington for permission to bid on Nord Stream 2 if it was put up for sale.

"An American investor with experience in making deals in Russia has appealed to the US government with a request to allow it to bid on Nord Stream 2 if it is put up for auction as part of bankruptcy proceedings in Switzerland," The Wall Street Journal wrote, citing a February letter that the investor sent to the US Treasury Department.

As EADaily reported, while the bankruptcy proceedings of the Nord Stream—2 operator are underway, the company itself plans that by 2030 the gas pipeline can be restored and deliveries can begin.

"Nord Stream 2 AG still believes in future operation, as evidenced by the negotiations. According to Transliq AG, the gas company is planning a scenario according to which the pipeline will start operating in 2030 and will last for 50 years," ZentralPlus reported with reference to a court hearing in Zug, Switzerland, where the future of the project was considered.

"In this scenario, it is assumed that the geopolitical situation will be defused, at the same time, there is a high demand for energy in Western Europe. Accordingly, there is also a need for inexpensive sources of procurement and a gas pipeline," a representative of Transliq AG, who acts as the temporary manager of Nord Stream 2, told the judge.