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“We are currently very actively discussing with the German government, evaluating possible steps, actions, measures that we can use to ensure that the pipeline is not used for bad purposes, for example, as a means of pressure or blackmail,” Blinken said. .
According to him, Washington and Berlin are also considering actions that would provide “economic and strategic protection to countries like Ukraine.”
The secretary of state expressed the hope that the United States and Germany “agree on important measures that can mitigate any damage that the pipeline may cause.” It also did not rule out the possibility of lifting the sanctions imposed on Nord Stream 2.
“It is important to demonstrate through concrete actions … that we can prevent or mitigate the damage that a pipeline can cause,” Blinken said.
He said construction of the pipeline was more than 90 percent advanced since President Joe Biden’s administration took office, so Washington’s concern now is not to stop the project, but to take steps to reduce its potential damage.
“Yes, President Biden said that the pipeline was a bad idea and that it would likely become a tool of economic and strategic pressure on Russia that could be used not only against Ukraine but also against Europe as a whole as its dependence on it increased. Russian gas “. recalled A. Blinken.
“But we are faced with the question of what we can actually do to reduce or avoid the damage that the pipeline could cause if President Putin and Russia misuse it. We are talking about this with Germany,” explained the head of the State Department. from the United States.
In May, the State Department submitted a report to the US Congress on sanctions related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. By law, the US administration is required to submit such a report to Congress every three months.
The Biden administration informed Congress that it had decided not to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, the sole shareholder of the Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, because the sanctions were detrimental to the national interests of the United States.
The wording used by the State Department means that Washington reserves the right to impose sanctions on this company if necessary.
Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported, citing informed sources, that the State Department, led by Blinken, along with First Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Political Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland, recommended a chain of sanctions on the pipeline to block your without making exceptions to the company or the CEO.
US President Biden, backed by top US National Security Council officials, disagreed with the recommendation. The White House has ruled that such a move would damage relations with one of the United States’ main allies, Germany.
With more than 90 percent of the gas pipeline project completed since the Biden administration began, the White House sees it as a fact that relations between Washington and Berlin are not worth jeopardizing, the sources said.
