The United States and Germany reached an agreement (DW) that will end U.S. objections to the near-complete Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany in exchange for commitments from Germany to promote Ukranian energy security and sanction Russia if it uses energy as a weapon.
The agreement was announced in a joint statement (State Dept.) issued after a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House last week. Washington has long opposed the pipeline (Bloomberg)—which will double Russia’s capacity to send gas undersea to Europe—over concerns that it will give Moscow leverage over European security. As part of the deal, Germany will invest in Ukraine’s transition to clean energy and its cybersecurity capabilities, as well as diplomatically support the extension (FT) of Ukraine’s gas transit agreements with Russia beyond their 2024 end date. Some U.S. lawmakers and Ukranian officials were critical (Axios) of the deal.
“Regardless of the specific approach Germany chooses to resolve the Nord Stream 2 conundrum, it should coordinate closely with the European Commission and with its European and transatlantic partners,” the Munich Security Conference’s Wolfgang Ischinger writes for Foreign Affairs.
“The Biden administration dropped its opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in hopes of bringing Berlin on board vis-à-vis Beijing, but in doing so, it allowed Moscow to increase its leverage over vulnerable democracies in eastern Europe,” Hal Brands of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies writes for Foreign Affairs.
