Chapter German Foreign Ministry Heiko Maas promised to protect the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from the restrictions that may be imposed under the new administration of the US President-elect Joe Biden reports Der Spiegel .
He stressed that the German government will not change its position on the gas pipeline even if the leadership of the United States changes. “We do not have to talk about European sovereignty, if this means that in the future we will do everything just the way Washington wants,” Maas stressed.
According to the diplomat, Berlin in any case will have a different opinion from the White House and is determined to defend it – and this applies not only to Nord Stream 2. It is much more important that the countries adhere to the same opinion on “central strategic and geopolitical issues”.
On December 12, Russian experts predicted Moscow “unprecedented” sanctions after coming to Joe Biden’s power. Experts believe that Washington can strike at the most painful points: to restrict the access of domestic banks to the world market and disconnect the country from the SWIFT international payments system.
Initially, Nord Stream 2 was planned to be completed and commissioned at the end of 2019. However, construction stalled last December after the US threatened to impose sanctions on the pipelayer owners. Washington imposed sanctions on the gas pipeline in December 2019.