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Senior officials in the Biden administration said that the United States will exempt the company responsible for the North Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from sanctions.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday: “It is in the national interest of the United States that I decide to abandon sanctions.” CEO Matthias Warnig and company employees.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas paid tribute to the “constructive steps”, which showed that the United States “is considering the very good relationship we have established with the Biden administration.”
Nord Stream 2 will bypass Ukraine and bring Russian gas directly into the Baltic Sea. Warnig is an official of the former East German Stasi Intelligence Service and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US State Department has sent its 90-day periodic report to Congress, which lists the entities involved in the case that will be sanctioned. The list includes Russian ships laying pipelines, but the company is not allowed to supervise the construction.
Maas said this exemption shows that the United States has “taken a step towards us.” “This shows the fact that Germany is an important partner of the United States and that it can rely on the United States in the future.”
Nord Stream 2 is “the only problem [Germany and the US] There are fundamental differences”, and the hope of the two countries is that the project “will no longer make a truly outstanding cooperation tense [between us] Anyway,” he added.
US President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) has been critical of Nord Stream 2, calling it a “bad deal for Europe.” The United States stated that the pipeline will deprive Kiev of its profitable gas transportation fees and make it more vulnerable to pressure from the Kremlin. US officials also believe that this will also increase Europe’s dependence on Russian energy imports.
Blinken said: “We are unwavering in our opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.”
A senior State Department official said Wednesday: “Stop [project] It has always been a vision.”
The official added: “Our actions today show that we continue to oppose the pipeline project under construction, but we are also aware of the president’s commitment to rebuilding relations with our European allies and partners.”
Brinken spoke to Maas on Tuesday, and a State Department spokesperson said he “emphasized the United States’ commitment to working with allies and partners to resist Russia’s efforts to undermine our collective security.” “With this method, [he] Emphasize that the United States opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. “
However, the decision to waive sanctions shows that Washington is unwilling to risk a destructive dispute with one of its closest allies on the project. Germany supports this pipeline, saying it is an important pillar of its energy security, and condemned the US extraterritorial sanctions on the project, saying it unreasonably interfered in its internal affairs.
Capitol Hill was frustrated by the news of immunity, where opposition to the Beiliu 2 meeting was one of the few issues that Democrats and Republicans agreed on.
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The Democratic Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, issued a statement saying that he opposes the Biden administration’s decision to waive sanctions. He does not see how the decision will push the United States to resist Russian aggression in Europe.
Republican representative Michael McCaul said the exemption would show that the US government never planned to stop the project. He said: “If the Putin regime is allowed to complete this pipeline, it is because the Biden administration has chosen to make it happen.”
Senator Ben Sass, Republican of Nebraska, said: “Two months ago, President Biden called Putin a “killer,” but today, he is planning to give Putin his regime and his cronies in Europe. Great strategic influence.”
The exemption will only apply for the next 90 days. But Germany is confident that this will give the two countries time to overcome their differences over the Beixi No. 2 power station.
Maas said the United States and Germany should now use the time remaining in the next 90-day report to discuss “particularly problematic aspects of the project”, especially “the way it makes Ukraine feel threatened.”
“We have three months…. Dialogue with officials in Washington on how we proceed and how the two governments can reconcile the different positions of Washington and Berlin on this issue,” he said.
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