Nord Stream 2: US lifts sanctions on Russian pipeline

A bipartisan group of senators has criticised the Biden administration for agreeing to waive sanctions on the company behind Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany.

Joe Biden has previously said he opposes the $11bn (£7.8bn) pipeline, which would take Russian gas from the Arctic to Germany, but the decision followed a quiet lobbying campaign from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Biden administration has sought to rebuild US relations with Germany after relations deteriorated under former president Donald Trump.

But Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have argued the move is a major victory for Russian president Vladimir Putin by increasing dependency on Moscow.

Both Ukraine and Poland had pressed the administration to oppose the pipeline.

Democrat senator Bob Menendez, chair of the foreign relations committee, said: "I urge the administration to rip off the Band-Aid, lift these waivers and move forward with the congressionally mandated sanctions.

"[I] fail to see how today's decision will advance US efforts to counter Russian aggression in Europe. It has created uncertainty in many corners of Europe."

"In defiance of US law, Biden is actively helping Putin build his pipeline," tweeted Republican senator Ted Cruz. "Objectively speaking, the Biden administration is shaping up to be the most pro-Russia administration of the modern era."

The State Department had imposed sanctions on four Russian ships, including the Akademik Cherskiy, which began pipe-laying for the project in Danish waters in April.

It also imposed the measures on five other Russian entities, including the Russian Marine Rescue Service.

But in a recent report the department opted to waive sanctions against Nordstream 2 AG, the Russian-owned company behind the pipeline, as well as its German CEO Matthias Warnig.

The department said "close cooperation" with Germany, the European Union and other European countries would be critical to US efforts to promote global economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as well as for addressing other global challenges.

"Today's actions demonstrate the administration’s commitment to energy security in Europe, consistent with the President’s pledge to rebuild relationships with our allies and partners in Europe," Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said as he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Iceland for an Arctic Council conference.

The waivers have no specific end date, but can be rescinded by the Secretary of State.

German officials welcomed the waiver as "a constructive step".

Heiko Maas, the German Foreign Minister, said: "It's an expression of the fact that Germany is an important partner for the US, one that it can count on in the future."

But Yuriy Vitrenko, the chief executive of Ukraine's state-owned energy company, said Nord Stream was Russia's most "dangerous geopolitical project".

A State Department official privately pointed out that stopping the pipeline, which is more than 90 per cent complete, had always been "a long shot" in the eyes of the administration.

At the rate it is being constructed, Nord Stream 2 could be finished before the end of the year.