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Germany is going to “reassess” the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in response to Russia’s actions toward Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday.
The 764-mile pipeline that would carry natural gas from Russia to Germany has not begun operating. Nord Stream 2 is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia state company Gazprom.
FILE – Pipes at the landfall facilities of the “Nord Stream 2” gas pipline are pictured in Lubmin, northern Germany, on Feb. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File / AP Newsroom)
Earlier this month, President Biden promised to “bring an end” to Nord Stream 2 if Russia invaded Ukraine. Scholz, appearing with Biden on his first official visit to Washington, was far less explicit about stopping Nord Stream 2, but said that the U.S. and Germany would have the same approach on punishing Russia financially.
GEN. JACK KEANE: NORD STREAM 2 ISN’T ‘A BIG DEAL’ FOR PUTIN IN UKRAINE CRISIS
“I want to be absolutely clear: We have intensively prepared everything to be ready with necessary sanctions if there is military action against Ukraine,” Scholz said.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OGZPY | GAZPROM PJSC | 8.0296 | -0.42 | -4.98% |
Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized as independent two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, where government troops have long fought Russia-backed rebels. The Kremlin then raised the stakes further Tuesday, by saying that recognition extends even to parts held by Ukrainian forces.
FILE – Pipes at the landfall facilities of the “Nord Stream 2” gas pipline are pictured in Lubmin, northern Germany, on Feb. 15, 2022. Stream 2 is a 764-mile natural gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, running from Russia to Germany’s Baltic coast. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File / AP Newsroom)
The Nord Stream 2 has seen a faster development and deployment despite sanctions placed on it by the Trump administration. With those sanctions removed, Germany remains keen to see the pipeline activated sooner rather than later.
Scholz had insisted that the pipeline is a “business project,” according to German outlet DW.
FILE – A Russian construction worker speaks on a mobile phone during a ceremony marking the start of Nord Stream pipeline construction in Portovaya Bay some 170 106 miles north-west from St. Petersburg, Russia on April 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File / AP Newsroom)
Biden last year removed sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, allowing construction and activation to proceed.
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The plan to allow Russia to develop the pipeline to create leverage in times of political crisis may have backfired, as Germany has also rapidly grown dependent on the completion and activation of the pipeline.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
