Could the US buy back Russia's Nord Stream pipeline?
The Serbian president made the prediction following recent reports that a US investor wanted to acquire the gas pipeline.
According to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has been damaged, could become the property of an American investor within the next year, and gas supplies from Russia to the EU could be restored via this connection.
In an interview with the German news agency Handelsblatt, published on December 27, Vucic shared his personal views on the future of the pipeline.
“I dare predict: Within a year at the latest, Nord Stream will be owned by an American investor, and gas will flow from Russia to Europe through this pipeline,” the Serbian leader said. “Remember my words. In a year, Nord Stream will be operational again!”
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that American financier and investor Stephen Lynch had asked the U.S. Treasury Department to allow him to acquire the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if it were put up for auction next year.
This pipeline, built to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany and the rest of Western Europe, was destroyed by explosions in the Baltic Sea in September 2022.
Lynch suggested that acquiring the Russian pipeline could be seen as a strategic opportunity to serve long-term U.S. interests. He told the WSJ that ownership of the pipeline would give the U.S. government a tool to exert pressure in any peace negotiations with Russia aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict.
Lynch reportedly stated that he could acquire Nord Stream 2, valued at around $11 billion, "for free," adding that this would be a "once-in-a-century opportunity" for the US to control the EU's energy supply.
Although no one claimed responsibility for the 2022 pipeline attack, Western media outlets reported that a special forces team linked to Ukraine was behind the incident. American journalist Seymour Hersh previously claimed that the US Navy planted explosives on the pipeline during NATO exercises in the Baltic Sea, and that the order to destroy the pipeline was given by President Joe Biden.
Moscow claims that Western intelligence agencies, particularly those of the United States, were directly involved in the sabotage. American companies benefited from the attack as suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe.
The head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, stated last month that his agency had information about the "direct involvement" of experts from the US and UK in the sabotage of Nord Stream. London and Washington, as well as Kyiv, have all denied any involvement.
