Blinken: U.S. working with Germany to mitigate Nord Stream 2 effects

But Blinken immediately waived those sanctions, saying that it was in the U.S. national interest. Germany, with which President Joe Biden has sought to repair relations frayed during the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump, wants to complete the pipeline. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has opposed the $11 billion Nordstream project, saying it is a bad deal for Europe.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday defended the Biden administration's decision last month to waive some sanctions over the Russian Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, and promised a response if Moscow tries to use gas as a weapon. A State Department report sent to Congress in May concluded that Nord Stream 2 AG - the company behind the Russian gas pipeline to Germany - and its CEO, Matthias Warnig, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, engaged in sanctionable activity. But Blinken immediately waived those sanctions, saying that it was in the U.S. national interest.

Germany, with which President Joe Biden has sought to repair relations frayed during the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump, wants to complete the pipeline. "Germany has come to the table and we are actively engaged with them," Blinken told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee when questioned about the pipeline project at a hearing on the State Department's budget request.

"I think we have an opportunity to make something positive out of a bad hand that we inherited when we took office." Gazprom and its Western partners are racing to finish the pipeline to send natural gas under the Baltic Sea. The project, now about 95% complete, would bypass Ukraine, depriving it of lucrative transit fees and potentially undermining its struggle against Russian aggression.

"We have agreements in place, upfront, to come back on any activities by Russia that are challenging the security or economic security of any of those countries," Blinken said. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has opposed the $11 billion Nordstream project, saying it is a bad deal for Europe. The United States is an exporter of natural gas to Europe in the form of LNG, but Russian gas is cheaper.

Washington fears Russia could use Nord Stream 2 as leverage to weaken European Union states by increasing dependency on Moscow.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)