USA: Rejection of Nord Stream 2 unites political opponents | America - The latest news and information | '
Nord Stream 2 – when Angela Merkel hears these words, she probably gets a headache now. The pipeline, originally regarded by the German government as a purely energy policy project, has now become a veritable foreign policy issue.
Ukraine is against the pipeline that runs through the Baltic Sea because it is losing such important gas transit revenues. There are also worries that with the cessation of gas transit, the guarantee of protecting the country from further Russian aggression would be eliminated. EU partners such as Denmark and France are also more skeptical about the project.
US Ambassador Richard Grenell finds clear words against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline
It does not look any better on the other side of the Atlantic. On the contrary. US politicians are closed against the planned pipeline. It starts at the top with President Donald Trump, who said that with Nord Stream 2 Germany is the "hostage of Russia". And it continues with his emissaries.
The US Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, wrote in a guest contribution for ‘ that Germany and Europe would make the project dependent on Russia. This "poses risks for Europe and the West as a whole – and makes us all more insecure," said the ambassador. "Nord Stream 2 would further increase Europe's vulnerability to Russian blackmail in the energy sector."
Nord Stream 2 no term for Americans
Clear words from politics. But in the population, the planned Baltic pipeline does not hit high waves. ‘ spoke to 13 journalists in the US capital Washington DC – a group of people who are generally well informed about international political developments. Most could not do anything with the term. Bridget Reed Morawski, energy journalist for industry insider Smartbrief, has already reported on Nord Stream 2. But the pipeline is beyond the reach of those around them.
"Most of my friends here in DC have no idea what Nord Stream 2 is," said Morawski. "And I have to say, they are usually better informed than my friends in the rest of the country."
Most normal consumers have never heard of Nord Stream 2. But the pipeline has succeeded in bringing together Republicans and Democrats, who are usually in very little agreement. "The US population may not be up to date on energy security in Europe, but there is bipartisan unity in politics and among experts," Dr. Agnia Grigas, senior fellow at the US Atlantic Council think tank and author of The New Geopolitics of Natural Gas.
Germany is "stuck in the noose"
Both Democrats and Republicans are against the planned gas pipeline and do not hold their opinion behind the mountain. "Putin's pipeline is a trap," said Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming Energy and Environment News E & E News in May. "Germany seems ready to put its head in the noose, I think that's a terrible mistake."
New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, in partnership with Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, has drafted a bill to impose sanctions on companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2. Shaheen said Russia uses cheap gas to monopolize energy supplies to Europe and endanger the region's stability. The US could not stand idle "while the Kremlin builds this Trojan horse."
Also Dr. Grigas of the Atlantic Council is concerned about the proposed pipeline. "Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal for Europe and for Germany," said the gas expert. "That would strengthen Russia's political influence in Germany and open the door to the flow of corruption into Europe."
Grigas also believes that it is paradoxical that Germany, on the one hand, advocates peace in Ukraine, but on the other hand demands the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, thereby channeling money into the pockets of the Kremlin regime. Germany must recognize that there are "many more gas exporters" on the global energy market today. Berlin is not dependent on Russia.
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