Germany shocked after GOP senators threatened port over Russia’s gas line

• Politicians in Berlin have reacted angrily to a letter from three Republican senators threatening sanctions on a small German port.
• Sens. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Ron Johnson last week threatened the port of Mukran with sanctions for their role in helping Russian ships develop a large gas pipeline in Germany.
• The administration of President Donald Trump opposes the project, called Nord Stream 2, over concerns that Germany is too dependent on gas from Russia and that Moscow is expanding its economic influence in Europe.
• The letter threatens “aggravated legal and economic sanctions” against the port if it does not “stop” helping Russian ships build Nord Stream 2.
• A minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government called the senators’ threat “completely outrageous.”
• Visit the Business Insider website for more stories.

The US’s relationship with Germany is under heightened tension after politicians in Berlin angrily responded to a letter from three Republican senators “crushing” sanctions against a small port for helping Russian ships build a gas pipeline.

Sens. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Ron Johnson wrote last week to Faehrhafen Sassnitz, the operators of the port of Mukran in the German coastal city of Sassnitz, threatening “serious legal and economic sanctions” if it did not stop helping Russian ships’ t were buildings of Nord Stream 2.

The administration of President Donald Trump continues the pipeline on concerns that Germany is too reliable on Moscow for natural gas and that Russia could expand its economic influence in Europe. In 2018, Trump said Germany could become ‘a hostage of Russia’, according to the BBC.

On this particular disagreement with Berlin, he is supported by various Democrats, such as European countries such as Poland and Slovakia.

Once completed, Nord Stream 2 is set to travel 1,230 kilometers, or 764 miles, of natural gas from Russia to northern Germany. It’s designed to double the capacity of Nord Stream, an existing pipeline built nearly a decade ago, according to The Washington Post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Nord Stream 2 may open later this year.

The letter, quoted by Deutsche Welle, said the port operators “knowingly provided important goods, services and support” to Russian ships developing the pipe. The letter told port companies to “stop activities” or face “potentially fatal measures” as commercial ties with the US become.

Niels Annen, a state minister in the German Foreign Office, called the letter “completely outrageous”.

He told German broadcaster ZDF last Friday: “A close friend and ally with sanctions, and using that kind of language, will not work … European energy policy will be decided in Brussels, and not in Washington, DC.”

Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of the state where the port is based, described the letter as ‘extortion’, while Jürgen Trittin, a leading Green member of the Bundestag, said it was a ‘declaration of economic war’. , Politico reported Tuesday.

The port of Mukran, on the German island of Rügen, maintains sections of the pipeline across the continent and is a service center for Russian ships building Nord Stream 2, according to Deutsche Welle.

Cruz and Democratic sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced last week a bill to extend sanctions to parties providing assistance with the Nord Stream 2 project.

Cruz said the Protecting Europe’s Energy Clarification Act, which must be approved by Congress and signed by Trump to become law, “makes clear those involved in ships installing the pipeline will shrink and immediate sanctions, “Reuters reported.

The clash over Nord Stream 2 comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Berlin.

Andreas Michaelis, Germany’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, recently told Business Insider that “shortcomings” in Germany’s relationship with the US meant that working with the Trump administration “became not easy”.

“With all the shortcomings in terms of information policy, and things being decided without consultation, this sloppiness that is creeping into the relationship is something that worries us,” he said.

Merkel’s government has also reacted strongly to Trump’s recent announcement of plans to withdraw nearly 12,000 US troops from Germany.

Johann Wadephul, a senior figure in Merkel’s party of the Christian Democratic Union, said last month: “We expect our leading ally to act as a model, with orientation and balance – not maximum pressure. You do not treat partners that way. “

Peter Beyer, Germany’s coordinator of transatlantic cooperation, also said it was “completely unacceptable.”