It is no longer possible to stop Nord Stream 2 – it is “too late”. For Germany, however, the project remains a bone of contention, both with Ukraine and the United States. This was stated by the head of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger on Sunday, December 5, in an interview with the Hadelsblatt newspaper.
In his opinion, stopping the project by the German side could ease the situation for US President Joe Biden, but it is pointless to do this right now. In addition, Ischinger noted, for Germany, which has abandoned nuclear power plants and, moreover, intends to stop using coal by 2030, the need will not decrease in the medium term.
“Of course, we should not depend on American domestic politics, but we must ensure that our politics in America continue to be properly understood and taken seriously,” he said.
Speaking about the possible introduction of new sanctions against Nord Stream 2 by Washington, the head of the forum explained that Congress still does not understand why Berlin is not becoming more independent in the matter of Russian gas supplies. According to Ischinger, the Americans believe that without giving up Russian blue fuel, Germany is actually subsidizing Moscow.
“Republicans are currently blocking the US defense budget. In other words: Nord Stream 2 remains not only a problem in relations with Ukraine and the European Parliament, but, unfortunately, also a transatlantic burden, “he concluded.
The authorities of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on December 3 supported the commissioning of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, despite US sanctions. Prime Minister Manuela Schwezig criticized the preparation of US sanctions against the companies involved in the project. She urged not to confuse construction with foreign policy. The prime minister recalled that the project has been approved at the international level.
On November 30, Republicans blocked the country’s defense budget for the next fiscal year in the US Senate. One of the reasons was the reluctance of the Democrats to introduce additional sanctions against Nord Stream 2.
On the same day, Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, stressed that Russia sees no problem in the outrage of American congressmen over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, since, according to him, the US legislature has nothing to do with the project.
The construction of SP-2 was completed on September 10. It was built from Russia to Germany along the Baltic seabed with the aim of direct gas supplies to Europe. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The Baltic states, Poland, the USA and Ukraine are opposed.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
