WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2021) The White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki admitted on Thursday difficulties preventing Russia from completing the Nord Stream 2 gas-exporting pipeline with 95 percent of construction already done.
"In what way were we going to be able to stop a project in another country that has been built 95 percent?.. We have certainly taken significant steps and we have also made clear in public and private channels our opposition to this plan," Psaki said during a daily briefing.
On Wednesday, the US administration identified four entities and four vessels subject to sanctions for engaging in the construction, but waived sanctions against the operator of the project, Nord Stream 2 AG, and its CEO Matthias Warnig.
"We certainly have an important vital relationship with leaders in Germany and we make a range of decisions through a range of global factors," Psaki said when asked to explain waivers.
Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture of Russian energy company Gazprom and five European partners. It aims to construct a twin pipeline that will deliver up to 2 trillion cubic feet of Russian gas to Germany annually under the Baltic Sea. The project is a constant target of criticism and sanctions by the US, which calls it a threat to the energy security of Europe and a geopolitical tool to weaken Ukraine. Russia defends the pipeline as a purely commercial project.
