Sanctions against Nord Stream 2 would have backfired

The US government formally lifted sanctions imposed on the pipeline operator last week. In a State Department report to Congress, it was said that waiving punitive measures against Nord Stream 2 AG in Zug, Switzerland, its German general manager Matthias Warnig and four other employees was in the “national interest”. But Republicans in Washington accuse Biden, the Democrat, of giving Kremlin President Vladimir Putin a “gift” with him.

In the federal government, the widespread US sanctions waiver caused a sigh of relief. In Berlin, people were increasingly upset that the long-awaited new start in German-American relations after the disastrous era of US President Donald Trump had been overshadowed by the ongoing pipeline dispute.

The pipeline from Russia via the Baltic Sea to Germany has largely been completed, and is a double line with a length of approximately 1,200 km. According to official information, 13.9 kilometers of one line and 16.8 kilometers of the second line were lost in German waters. The United States and many European countries oppose the pipeline because they fear that Europe will be highly dependent on Russian gas.