US deputy state secretary nominee vows to stop Nord Stream-2

WASHINGTON, Mar 4 (PRIME) -- Wendy Sherman, U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee for the position of deputy secretary of state, said on Wednesday during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing that she would do everything possible to stop Russia’s Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline.

“If confirmed, will you move immediately to ensure that the Biden administration meets its mandatory obligation imposed by Congress to name and sanction all of the entities that are engaged in pipe-laying, pipe-laying activities, certification, or insurance related to Nord Stream-2?” Senator Ted Cruz asked Sherman.

“Even if confirmed, I will not have the authority to make those decisions unilaterally, but I can say to you that I will do everything I possibly can to ensure that Nord Stream-2 does not go forward,” she said.

“I know that the administration … will move forward on everything that they can do legally to stop the pipeline.”

The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a natural gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russian gas giant Gazprom builds the pipeline together with Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall Dea, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.

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