Saturday 30th October 2021
German change of government
Biden insists on Nord Stream agreement
After a long dispute, the USA and Germany agreed on a line in dealing with Nord Stream 2. In view of the coalition negotiations in Germany, US President Biden points out the importance of the agreement – and its implementation.
In view of the upcoming change of government in Berlin, US President Joe Biden has demanded compliance with the German-American agreement on the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Biden has underlined the importance of continuous work on the implementation of the agreement, announced the White House after a conversation with Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel and her likely successor, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome.
Biden emphasized that it must be ensured that Russia could not use the natural gas supplies for harmful political purposes. The German-American agreement provides that Russia will be sanctioned if the pipeline is used as a geopolitical “weapon”.
In the negotiations between Scholz and the Greens and the FDP about the formation of a traffic light coalition, the handling of Nord Stream 2 is controversial. The Greens are against the project, the FDP is at least skeptical and the SPD wants to stay out of it.
Evacuation of Afghans completed
The White House also said it had discussed efforts to provide continued humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Biden thanked Germany for accepting 35,000 Afghans when they moved to the USA. After a good two months, the USA had completed the evacuation of Afghans via its Ramstein air base in Rhineland-Palatinate. According to the US Air Force, the last aircraft left the hub for the USA.
The action began after the militant Islamist Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. Since August 20, 34,900 Afghans had been flown out via Ramstein. The US President thanked Merkel for the 16 years in which she had worked in a leading position for common security, prosperity and for transatlantic relations.