OREANDA-NEWS. The condition for the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline should be the dismantling of military bases abroad by Russia. This was stated by the former adviser to the President of the United States on national security John Bolton in an article for the portal 19Fortyfive.

“Brussels must take seriously the threat from Russia, which, after all, borders the European Union, not America,” he stressed.

According to him, the project should be canceled until Russia closes military bases in other countries.

Bolton also advised NATO members in Europe to increase military budgets to two percent of the gross domestic product, as agreed at the Cardiff summit, called for an increase in arms supplies to Ukraine and an increase in the rotation of NATO troops in this country.

“Western defense ministers and the chairmen of their joint headquarters should gather in Kiev, Chisinau, Tbilisi and even Minsk for consultations,” he added.

On the eve of Russia’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, said that the question of the timing of certification of the gas pipeline is political, not technical.

Chizhov also noted that it is difficult to make a forecast on the timing of certification of the SP-2, while the EU does not have a clearly expressed position on the fate of the project. For Russia, the timing of certification of the gas pipeline is not of fundamental importance, since there are resources for pumping gas, the diplomat added.

On December 22, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, who earlier opposed the project, said that she and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had developed a common position on the launch of SP-2, which is that the certification process should be based on European legislation.