Lawmakers from both parties noted that the pipeline would place Russian infrastructure within NATO territory, thus threatening its member states, and making some European countries more dependent on Russian energy. It will also deprive Ukraine of billions of dollars in revenue, enabling Russia to bypass the country when gas is transferred to Europe.
But the diplomatic situation is delicate, officials said. The government wants to hamper the project – Biden called it a “bad deal for Europe”, but also wants to strengthen US relations with Germany, which has pushed for the construction of the pipeline to continue unabated.
“We are between a rock and a difficult place,” said a second senior official.
There is also dual political pressure on the Biden government to act. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken briefed members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, but gave little clarity on what the government plans to do, causing immediate setbacks.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who co-authored a provision in the annual defense bill that calls for sanctions for entities that support the construction of the pipeline, has placed several Biden nominees to pressure the president to act .
“If the Biden government falters, if they defy the law, they will turn a major foreign policy victory for America into a huge foreign policy loss and a billion-dollar gift to Vladimir Putin forever,” Cruz said. Senate confirmation of, among others, Biden’s nominees for CIA director and deputy secretary of state.
“I told Secretary Blinken that I would be delighted to remove the candidates for the State Department candidates today if they would just follow the law and issue an interim report in which all the companies are subject to mandatory sanctions,” added Cruz.
Can Germany come up with a compromise?
Analysts said the worst outcome for the Biden government would be to impose severe sanctions on a project that is more than 90 percent complete, but only to see it finalized anyway. The German government has meanwhile expressed several potential offers to get the US to lay the pipeline, said people familiar with the talks, including trade deals and increased investment in green energy projects in Europe and Ukraine.
‘The question is whether Germany can come to an agreement [Biden] could not refuse, ”said one former ambassador who followed the negotiations. Biden can then go to Congress with it and say, ‘Look what we have. ”
A spokesman for the German Ministry of Finance confirmed that the German government was “in touch with the US government regarding US sanctions and sanctions threats regarding Nord Stream 2”, but said the talks were confidential and did not comment further.
The first senior administration official also declined to comment on the government’s diplomatic talks with Germany, but said they had made it clear to Berlin that Biden saw the pipeline “as a clear example of Russia’s aggressive actions. in the region, which offers Russia the means to use a critical natural resource for political pressure and malicious influence on Europe. ”
Possible items Germany could offer include a partnership with the US to invest in energy projects in Eastern and Central Europe and to join the Biden government to take a tougher stance on China, people said. who watched the pipeline issue said. Last year, the German Ministry of Finance offered to spend 1 billion euros to ‘massively increase’ its public support for the construction of LNG terminals along the German coastline in exchange for ‘unobstructed construction and operation of Nord Stream 2.’ The offer went nowhere with the Trump administration.
One lobbyist involved in trying to stop the project said some in the government hope they can buy time for the federal election in Germany in September, which could lead to the acquisition of the country’s green party and possibly from the pipeline project. Lawsuits focusing on Danish permits for the pipeline are likely to halt construction until at least May, said Constantin Zerger, head of energy and climate change programs at Environmental Action Germany, the group that led the efforts in the courtroom.
But with the pipeline almost complete, members of Congress are becoming increasingly anxious about it.
“What I would like to see is that the government act quickly to stop the remaining section of the pipeline,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.).
A ‘full diplomatic pressure’ on Russia
Although it is still unclear which institutions the government will approve next, they are likely to include Russian vessels and companies involved in the project, people familiar with the internal consultation said. Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Blinken last week mentioning more than a dozen such entities, including Russian foreign supply ships and insurance and inspection companies identified by open-source marine trackers.
Cruz said on Thursday he handed Blinken a report from one of the ship’s trackers – the Danish Maritime Authority – which identified ships that were helping with the construction of the pipeline and thus subjecting them to sanctions.
The government sent a report to Congress last month identifying two Russian vessels involved in the construction of the pipeline, but lawmakers saw the report as inadequate because President Donald Trump already had a sanction. The legislators expected the State Department to list additional entities, which would further impede construction.
Senators emerged from the classified briefing with Blinken on Thursday, without any clear understanding of what steps the Biden government will take. Shaheen, who joined Cruz’s initial sanction effort, said it was not yet clear whether the government would act quickly enough to prevent the pipeline from being completed.
Sen. Bob Bob Menendez (DN.J.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Blinken told lawmakers that the administration was “reviewing all the possibilities” and said: “The government is opposed to doing so. what is needed. to follow up his opposition to it. He said Biden was in the middle of a ‘complete diplomatic effort to stop Nord Stream 2’.
At the same time, the Biden administration is imposing separate sanctions on Russia on a series of malicious activities, including the cyber attack by Solar Winds and the persecution of Kremlin by opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
But some senators have expressed concern about exacerbating tensions with Germany by pursuing aggressive penalties across the pipeline, especially after the Trump administration alienated the European ally on a number of issues.
“I think as long as we target Russian assets, we are on safe ground,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “This is not the time to create a greater rift with Europe than is absolutely necessary.”