Head of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger in an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper statedthat the time for the shutdown of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is gone.
Ischinger added that the project remains a problem not only with regard to Ukraine, but also in relations between Germany and the United States. When asked if the American leader Joe Biden’s life would make it easier for the FRG to stop the project, Ischinger replied: “Yes, but for this [остановки]it’s obviously too late now. “
According to the head of the Munich conference, even if Berlin, after withdrawing from nuclear energy after 2030, decides to abandon coal, Germany’s gas demand will not decrease in the medium term.
Ischinger said that the United States Congress still does not understand why Germany is not becoming more independent on the issue of Russian gas supplies. “From the US point of view, [мы] we provide financial assistance to Russia, ”he said.
On November 28, it became known that Germany called on the United States to drop sanctions against Nord Stream 2. Berlin noted that the gas pipeline does not pose a threat to Ukraine, since the transit of Russian gas to Europe continues through its territory. At the same time, the government stressed that the position on this project does not affect Berlin’s policy towards Russia.
The Hill also wrote that the Joe Biden administration expressed concern about the introduction of tougher actions on the project, as it was afraid to displease the German side, which is “an important European ally in the fight against climate change and in order to limit the growing influence of China in the world.” In this regard, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken decided to lift the sanctions for the certification of the gas pipeline.
At the same time, the German Foreign Ministry reported that Berlin and Washington are in constant contact on the line of restrictive measures against Russia in the event that it uses energy as a weapon.
Later, the Prime Minister of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwezig, called the preparation of new US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 unreasonable. She stressed that the gas pipeline has nothing to do with foreign policy issues.
Schwesig noted that she was confused by the re-raised topic of restrictions by Congress in light of the fact that the German government reached an agreement with the US authorities that there will be no new sanctions against German companies.
Retired SBU Colonel and military expert Oleg Starikov previously explained that US President Joe Biden agreed not to interfere with the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline so that Germany would not withdraw from NATO.
According to him, the head of the White House said that the United States would “wet” Russia, but in fact provided an opportunity for LNG to stand empty, “all the gas went to China, and Russia occupied the European market.”
The head of the Ukrainian company Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, in turn, called the decision of the German Federal Network Agency (BNA) on Nord Stream 2 a “mockery”. He said the pipeline cannot be certified in Europe, as it allegedly does not comply with European Union (EU) rules.
Vitrenko, commenting on the decision of the German regulator to allow the operator Nord Stream 2 AG to create a German subsidiary, said that Kiev is against such an approach.
On November 16, Germany suspended certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. German government sources noted that the pipeline’s launch could be delayed until March 2022 due to certification issues.
In early December, the Democrats of the Senate of the US Congress agreed to consider a package of amendments to the country’s draft defense budget for the current fiscal year, which involves the introduction of sanctions for participation in the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The construction of the gas pipeline was completed on September 10. According to the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, on September 6, the operator of the construction of Nord Stream 2, Nord Stream 2 AG, informed about the welding of the last pipe in the Baltic Sea.
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