The situation involving the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas project remains vague following Washington's decision to waive some of the sanctions, Steffen Kotre, a member of Bundestag's energy committee from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Sputnik, adding that it would be politically expedient for Germany to initiate counter-sanctions on the United States
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2021) The situation involving the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas project remains vague following Washington's decision to waive some of the sanctions, Steffen Kotre, a member of Bundestag's energy committee from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Sputnik, adding that it would be politically expedient for Germany to initiate counter-sanctions on the United States.
Despite pledging to stop the project from being completed, the Biden administration notified Congress that it spared the Nord Stream 2 AG company and its CEO Matthias Warnig, citing "US national interest" as the reason. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed during his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, earlier on Thursday that Washington decided to waive the application of sanctions. US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, however, has issued a statement urging the Biden administration to proceed with the Congress-mandated sanctions.
"So far as the German government's opposition to the US' aggressive actions in relation to Nord Stream 2 is only verbal, the danger is increasing that the project will not be completed," Kotre said, adding that "it would be politically viable to initiate counter-sanctions," including by hiking tariffs on US liquefied natural gas (LNG),
Speaking about the role the US national interests play in ensuring the energy security of its European partners, the lawmaker quipped that if the US sanctions were motivated by the concern about Europe "they should have imposed sanctions against the German government."
"This is a confusing situation. There are only several kilometers left to build, everyone knows that. I cannot judge how deeply the US administration is rethinking [its stance on Nord Stream 2]. I hope that this important project will finally end as a success," Kotre said.
Recalling Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to reject both coal and nuclear energy for the sake of going green, the AfD lawmaker said it presents a serious threat to the energy security of both Germany and Europe. Meanwhile, Nord Stream 2 can soften the consequences of that decision, he stressed.
The Nord Stream 2 project aims to lay a 745-mile-long offshore twin pipeline that will carry up to 1.9 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden.
The pipeline's construction was suspended in December 2019 after US sanctions forced Swiss pipelay company Allseas to withdraw from the project. The construction resumed last December and is 95% complete.
