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US and Germany

strike deal on Nord

Stream 2 pipeline

US-GERMANY THE US and Germany reached a bilateral agree-
ment on Nord Stream 2 on July 21 that will allow
the pipeline to be completed without further US
sanctions.
Nord Stream 2 will pump 55bn cubic metres
per year of Russian gas to Germany when it
reaches full capacity. The pipeline is politically
controversial as Russia wants to use it to divert
as much gas as away from Ukraine as possible, to
reduce costs and starve Kyiv of billions of dollars
of annual transit revenues.
At a meeting between US President Joe Biden
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the US
and Germany agreed to take action against Rus-
sia if it uses Nord Stream 2 to harm Ukraine or
other East European countries.
“The United States and Germany are united
in their determination to hold Russia to account
for its aggression and malign activities by impos-
ing costs via sanctions and other tools,” said the
joint statement.
“Should Russia attempt to use energy as
a weapon or commit further aggressive acts
against Ukraine, Germany will take action at in Europe,” said the statement from Kuleva and
the national level and press for effective meas- Rau.
ures at the European level, including sanctions, “Currently, this crisis is significantly deep-
to limit Russian export capabilities to Europe in ened by the resignation from attempts to stop the
the energy sector,” it said. launch of the NS2 gas pipeline. This decision has
The agreement comes after talks between the created political, military and energy threat for
two leaders on July 15, after which they stressed Ukraine and Central Europe, while increasing
that they would work together to ensure that Russia’s potential to destabilise the security sit-
The US and Ukraine would remain a transit route for Russian uation in Europe, perpetuating divisions among
gas heading to Europe.
Nato and European Union member states.”
Germany agreed Germany wants to see Nord Stream 2 real- They added that “Ukraine and Poland will
to take action ised, as it will enable the country to tap low- work together with their allies and partners to
er-cost gas to support its economy and provide oppose NS2 until solutions are developed to
against Russia valuable transit revenues. address the security crisis created by NS2”.
This posed a dilemma for the new US presi-
In an attempt to ease the blow on Kyiv, the
if it uses Nord dent as he sought to rebuild ties with Germany US finally issued the much-anticipated invita-
that were damaged during the Trump era. The tion to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelen-
Stream 2 to harm US fears that Russia will use the pipeline as a tool skiy to visit to the White House on August 30.
Ukraine or other to assert political pressure in Europe, although “An invitation for “later this summer” had been
Moscow accuses Washington of simply looking announced in June before Biden met Russian
East European out for the interests of its US exporters. President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, but a date
Inevitably the agreement has been poorly had not been set until Wednesday,” wrote BMB
countries. received in Ukraine, where Foreign Minister Ukraine in a note on July 21.
For its part, Germany has agreed to provide
Dmytro Kuleba issued a joint statement with his
counterpart from Poland — Central Europe’s Ukraine with $1bn to support its transition
chief Russia hawk — Zbigniew Rau condemn- to cleaner energy, supplied by private sources
ing the move. backed with government guarantees in a Green
“The decision to build Nord Stream 2 made Fund for Ukraine. This includes an initial invest-
in 2015 mere months after Russia’s invasion ment of $175mn, as announced on July 21. The
and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, US will support the initiative with technical
created security, credibility and political crisis assistance and policy support.™

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