The controversial North Stream 2 natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, which has long been a drag on US diplomacy, is returning strongly, becoming one of Washington’s main “leverages” to prevent Moscow from invading Ukraine.
The White House has not yet made it clear whether the US President waved this energy threat at a virtual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
But in front of the media, his national security adviser Jack Sullivan insisted on this track “absolute priority.”
Noting that the natural gas pipeline has not yet been put into operation and is subject to certification from Germany, he believes that it cannot become a “Leverage of Putin.” “This is a lever for the West, because if Vladimir Putin wants the future Beixi 2 to send natural gas, he may not risk invading Ukraine,” he said.
Since last week, the US government has been threatening Russia. Russia has been accused of regrouping troops on the Ukrainian border. If it decides to attack a neighboring country, it will impose severe economic sanctions on it. In order to show that he was more determined than in 2014, when he asked Moscow to annex Ukrainian Crimea, he assured us that these will be unprecedented sanctions that he “avoided in the past. It is precisely because they will have an impact on Russia.”
-Virtue Agreement-
Around an initiative in Washington, it is widely speculated that Swift is an important gear in global finance that allows banks to circulate currency.
However, given its impact on the Russian economy and the world, this hypothesis is often referred to as a “nuclear option” and will only be regarded by the United States as a last resort-no U.S. official does not do this. And it has been confirmed.
“Swift will be a major upgrade,” William Taylor, the former U.S. ambassador to Kiev and vice chairman of the American Institute of Peace Think Tank, told AFP.
According to him, “Beixi 2 is a serious choice” and “one of the most important measures” under study, because it allows the Biden government to show a very firm attitude without causing an economic earthquake.
“NS2” has long poisoned the relationship between Washington and Berlin.
The United States strongly opposes this natural gas pipeline that passes through the Baltic Sea, threatening to deprive Ukraine of some of its transit income, and it is also a means to put pressure on Moscow.
Although the political class opposed the project, no US government had risked conflict with its key ally, Germany. The limited sanctions adopted so far have not prevented construction from proceeding to the end.
Noting that this work is now inevitable, Joe Biden decided to end the dispute with the Germans by signing an agreement with the Germans in July, which is now back on the international stage.
The article warned that if Russia takes “aggression” against Ukraine, Germany will take measures to “limit Russia’s ability to export energy to Europe.”
-“Long Term Project”-
Today’s American diplomacy is based on this kind of compromise that was largely unnoticed at the time.
“If President Putin takes action against Ukraine, we expect the pipeline to be suspended,” State Department number three Victoria Newland pounded in front of US senators on Tuesday.
For William Taylor, this is a powerful weapon, because for the Kremlin “this is a long-term project.”
He believes that “the reason Putin is really keen on this” is “because it will enable him to open and close” the valve to Europe, thereby “influencing European decision-making.” -he. Therefore, this threat will “cause his full attention.”
In the US political arena, this also allows the Democratic president to respond to Republicans for not forgiving him for the construction of “pipes.”
When the conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel handed over power to the Social Democrat Olaf Schultz, it remains to be seen whether Germany, which has so far been attached to Beixi 2 is ready to compete in the United States.
“The Germans are divided on this point,” William Taylor argued, noting that Annalena Baerbock, the future foreign minister and environmentalist, is more opposed to natural gas pipelines.