MOSCOW, Mar 15 (PRIME) -- The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is still working on new sanctions for Russia’s Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline, but is now in a tough spot, because it simultaneously wants to improve relations with Germany that supports the pipeline, Politico newswire reported on March 13 quoting unnamed officials.
“The diplomatic situation is delicate, officials said. The administration wants to impede the project — Biden has called it ‘a bad deal for Europe’ — but it also wants to strengthen the U.S. relationship with Germany, which has been lobbying for the pipeline’s construction to continue unabated,” Politico reported.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place,” a senior administrative official said, as quoted by Politico.
The administration is working on additional sanctions against companies connected to the pipeline project. The authority is required by law to report to the Congress every 90 days, and it has to name entities involved in the project that are eligible for sanctions. Identification of new targets is going on now, and should be completed before the next report in May, officials told Politico.
“We are always looking at pipeline activity that would be sanctionable, so if we see activity that meets that threshold we are prepared to follow the law,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
Alice Weidel, leader of the Alternative for Germany party in the German parliament Bundestag, told PRIME that the Nord Stream-2 is necessary for the country.
“Germany has its own energy interests. It is important that our country does not become dependent in a small number of energy suppliers. That is why conclusion of the Nord Stream-2 project is a necessity. It is also understandable that the U.S. has its own interests. Nevertheless, the sanction policy hurts both sides,” she said.
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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