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The Biden administration said stopping Nord Stream 2 is a long shot now that the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is more than 90% complete, a shift in tone that came as the U.S. held off on sanctioning the company overseeing its construction.
In a report to Congress on Wednesday, the State Department said that Nord Stream 2 AG and its chief executive Matthias Warnig are engaged in sanctionable activity under U.S. law but that the administration will waive penalties for national security reasons.
Nord Stream 2 Q&A
Q: What is Nord Stream 2?
A: A natural gas pipeline between Russia and the EU. It will bypass a Ukraine bottleneck and instead go under the Baltic Sea.
The pipeline was 90% complete with Trump objecting every step of the way while placing huge obstacles.
The irony is that instead of EU contractors building the pipeline, Russian contractors built it and got paid for it.
National Security Nonsense
Trump placed the sanctions on Russia over the pipeline citing national security.
In reality, his primary focus was to get the EU to buy US liquid natural gas at a much higher price than the EU can get from Russia.
Biden reversed Trump’s national security lie with a lie of his own, also based on national security concerns.
Curiously we placed and removed the same sanctions out of national security concerns.
Opposition Unwavering? Security Threat?
“Our opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is unwavering,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday.
“Completion of this pipeline poses a threat to U.S. security interests and the stability of our partners in the region,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said in a statement. “The administration should uphold its commitment to Congress. Every option available to prevent its completion should be utilized.”
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