The U.S. government announced on the 19th to drop sanctions related to the “Nord Stream 2” (Nord Stream2) gas pipeline. Foreign media believe that this decision is the U.S. State Department’s super hairpin bend. AFP reports that the move will help ease tensions between the U.S. and Germany over the $12 billion plan.
“The Washington Post reported that Antony Blinken announced the sanctions waiver before his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the biennial Arctic Council meeting in Iceland’s Reykjavik. The decision. The meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. and Russian foreign ministers since the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
The WaPo also noted that Blinken and Lavrov touched elbows in greeting and smiled before sitting down to exchange views on important bilateral cooperation, in an atmosphere very different from the heated verbal exchanges that took place during Blinken’s first meeting with senior Chinese officials.
Blinken (left) and Lavrov greeted each other with elbow-to-elbow contact. (SAUL LOEB/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Reuters reports that bilateral relations between the U.S. and Germany deteriorated during former President Trump’s presidency, and now the Biden administration is trying to rebuild them. While there is no exact date on how long the waiver will last, the secretary of state has the authority to decide when to lift it.
In a letter to Congress, Blinken said it is “in the national interest of the United States” to waive the sanctions originally imposed by Congress on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline company and its CEO, Matthias Warnig.
However, Blinken stressed in a statement that the Biden administration maintains its opposition to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, “We remain opposed to the completion of this plan because it would weaken the energy security of Europe, Ukraine and the eastern allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the countries of the European Union.”
“Our position is consistent with our commitment that we will strengthen the transatlantic relationship as a matter of national interest.”
Washington has said the 1,200-kilometer Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, which is operated by Russia, would pose a geopolitical security risk.
Germany and other European countries believe that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is vital for Europe to obtain long-term energy supplies; Germany has even previously stated that U.S. sanctions are tantamount to interference in internal affairs.
The foreign press pointed out that the U.S. State Department’s decision on the 19th is equivalent to a super hairpin bend. Blinken said in Brussels in March this year, the pipeline will harm the interests of Europe and affect energy security goals. He said at the time that Nord Stream 2 “is a bad idea, to the detriment of Europe and the United States” and threatened to sanction “any entity involved in the plan”.
In March, Blinken said in Brussels that the pipeline would undermine European interests and affect energy security goals. (YVES HERMAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is more than 95 percent complete, is being laid under the Baltic Sea to double the amount of gas going to Germany, Europe’s largest economy. The pipeline laying operation was put on hold for nearly a year due to news of U.S. sanctions in 2020, and construction work only resumed last December.
Gazprom, which holds a majority stake in the project, is working with an international consortium that includes German companies Wintershall and Uniper, as well as Royal Dutch Shell, French energy company Engie and Austrian oil and gas group OMV to lay the pipeline.
Gazprom Neft, based in Switzerland, holds control of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and its chief executive, Voninger, is said to have good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nord Stream 2 will follow the route of Nord Stream 1, which began operating in 2011. However, Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states are fiercely opposed to Nord Stream 2, fearing that the pipeline will strengthen Moscow’s regional political influence, especially since Nord Stream 2 bypasses Ukraine, making it impossible for Ukraine to earn money by collecting transit fees for the pipeline, which would aggravate its domestic economy.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline landing facility in Lubmin, northeastern Germany, Sept. 7, 2020. (ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is pleased that the U.S. will lift sanctions, calling it a step toward easing tensions. Maas said, “We understand that the Biden administration has made this decision in view of the very good relations that it wants to build during its tenure.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov welcomed the move to lift sanctions, saying “it’s better than seeing the announcement of new sanctions, which is certainly a positive message.
U.S. Senator Jim Risch speaks after a Senate Republican luncheon at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., May 18, 2021. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
However, the move was strongly criticized by Republican U.S. Senator Jim Risch, who said lifting the sanctions would be “a gift to Putin and would only weaken the leverage the U.S. has before the upcoming Biden-Putin summit. Biden plans to hold a summit with Putin in June.
In a statement, Ricci said, “The administration has put the ostensible interests of Germany and Russia ahead of our allies in Central and Eastern Europe and Northern Europe.”
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