BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2022) Germany assured the United States that in the event of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, gas would not run via Nord Stream 2, but the abandonment of the project is ruled out, the Bild tabloid reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
According to the publication, CIA Director William Burns visited Berlin two weeks ago. One of the topics of the visit was the operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Burns and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were assured that in the event of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gas would not go through Nord Stream 2, but the office of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) did not want to distance themselves from the pipeline, the tabloid said.
According to BILD, during Burns's visit to Berlin, "the situation in the SPD leadership was also probed." Washington doubts the loyalty of the top SPD politicians to the NATO alliance, the newspaper said without citing sources, since "the influence of the Moscow-loyal entourage of the ex-chancellor and Kremlin manager (Gerhard) Schroeder is still seen as significant."
