Moscow’s escalation in the Ukraine conflict has also fundamentally changed the situation with regard to the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
After the federal government suspended the approval process for the German-Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, the USA is now introducing sanctions against the operating company and its top managers.
This was announced by US President Joe Biden in a written statement. Biden had previously refrained from taking such a step out of consideration for Germany. The Americans’ decision is another major blow to the pipeline.
In view of the Russian escalation in the Ukraine conflict, the federal government put the project on hold on Tuesday and stopped the approval process for Nord Stream 2 for the time being. The government in Berlin was reacting to Moscow’s recognition of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Overall, the West announced a whole series of sanctions against Russia because of President Vladimir Putin’s actions. This also includes punitive measures by the USA.
Biden said the Nord Stream 2 decision was another part of that first tranche of sanctions. The USA had coordinated closely with the federal government on the issue.
The operating company of the pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG, belongs to the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. The pipeline was built to bring gas from Russia to Germany bypassing Ukraine. The line has been completed but is not yet operational. With the U-turn by the federal government, an operating license is probably not in sight for a long time.
Biden has been against Nord Stream 2 for a long time. Nevertheless, last May the Democrat issued special permits (“Presidential Waiver”) that spared Nord Stream 2 AG, based in Switzerland, and its German CEO, Matthias Warnig, from US sanctions stayed. This waiver of sanctions was expressly made out of consideration for Germany as an ally. At the time, Biden also stated that the United States would no longer be able to prevent the pipeline from being completed.
The issue of Nord Stream 2 had long caused resentment and anger between Germany and the USA. In order to defuse the dispute, Germany pledged greater support to Ukraine in a joint statement with the United States last July.
In view of the Ukraine crisis, the situation has changed fundamentally once again. Since the federal government has now turned away from Nord Stream 2 of its own accord, Biden no longer has to take Berlin into account.
In his statement, the US President emphasized the recent close coordination with Germany on the subject. He thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) “for his close partnership and his continued commitment to holding Russia accountable for its actions”.
In the United States, there has long been strong opposition to Nord Stream 2, among both Republicans and Democrats. Critics have argued that the pipeline is primarily a geopolitical project by Russia. Putin’s goal is to decouple Ukraine from Europe and make Europe even more dependent on Russian gas.
In the past few months, Republicans have tried unsuccessfully several times in Congress to tighten sanctions laws and thus deny Biden the opportunity to authorize exemptions from US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 for reasons of national security. Praise for Biden’s decision now came from their ranks.
Source: Stern
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