Thursday, January 13, 2022
Nord Stream 2 is discontinued
Top US Republican rails against Berlin
The new federal government is facing powerful headwinds from the USA. Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican faction in the US Senate, is urging Berlin to scrap the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who uses “energy as a weapon”, also has to listen to harsh words.
The leader of the Republican faction in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, has called on the federal government to abandon the controversial German-Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2. “The German government should have put this project on hold a long time ago,” McConnell said in the Senate. “Berlin can still make the right decision.” McConnell called on US President Joe Biden’s Democrats to support Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s bill for tougher sanctions over Nord Stream 2.
Against the background of the Ukraine crisis, McConnell said the sanctions are not about driving a wedge between European countries. “The pipeline itself is the wedge.” Putin’s goal is to decouple Ukraine from Europe and make Europe even more dependent on Russian gas. “We can send a strong warning to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that he is not allowed to use energy as a weapon.”
“Wedge between us and our allies”
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen – a declared opponent of Nord Stream 2 – called for not supporting Cruz’s push to tighten sanctions. “It would drive a wedge between us and our allies, particularly between the United States and Germany, at a time when we cannot afford it.” Her party colleague Chris Murphy said a tougher sanctions law “would be a gift to Vladimir Putin because it would signal division at a time when we need to stand together.”
One of the aims of the project launched by Senator Cruz is to deprive US President Joe Biden of the opportunity to authorize exceptions to US sanctions over Nord Stream 2 for reasons of national security. The Senate plans to vote on it on Thursday. It is considered unlikely that the required majority of 60 of the 100 votes will be met.
Nord Stream 2 is to bring gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing Ukraine. The 1230-kilometer double strand has been completed but is not yet in operation.