China criticizes U.S. sanctions on Russia's Arctic LNG-2 project
BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) - China's involvement in Russia's Arctic LNG-2 liquefied natural gas project should not be the target of any third party intervention or restrictions, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The United States imposed sanctions on Artic LNG-2 in November as part of a package of sweeping new measures against Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Russian controlling shareholder Novatek has declared force majeure due to the U.S. sanctions, according to sources.
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Russian news outlet Kommersant reported on Monday that Chinese state-owned oil majors CNOOC Ltd and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), both stakeholders, had also declared force majeure in the project.
Economic cooperation between China and Russia was in the mutual interest of both countries and "should not be interfered with or restricted by any third party," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference on Tuesday.
"China has always opposed unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction without the basis of international law," she added.
The Arctic LNG-2 project was due to start production in early 2024. Novatek holds a 60% stake in the project, whilst CNOOC and CNPC each have a 10% stake as do France's TotalEnergies and a consortium of Japan's Mitsui & Co and JOGMEC.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Andrew Hayley in Beijing; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Edwina Gibbs)