U.S. President Joe Biden justified his decision to waive sanctions against the company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on May 25 by saying the project was nearly complete and sanctions could hurt ties with Europe.
Biden, who is preparing for his first visit to Europe and his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month, told reporters he withheld sanctions because the pipeline was “almost completely finished.”
“To go ahead and impose sanctions now would, I think, be counter-productive in terms of our European relations,” Biden said.
The decision came as the Biden administration seeks to rebuild ties with Germany after relations deteriorated under former President Donald Trump.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted positively to the Biden administration’s decision to waive sanctions, saying on May 25 she expected further discussions on Nord Stream 2.
If completed, Nord Stream 2 would allow Russia to bypass Ukraine when transporting an annual 110 billion cubic meters to European countries through Germany, depriving Ukraine of at least $1.5 billion in transit fees per year.
Russia and Ukraine have a five-year agreement through 2024 that guarantees Russia will transport no less than 40 billion cubic meters through Ukraine each year and must pay Ukraine at least $7.2 billion over the course of the contract.
Biden, who earlier called the pipeline a “bad deal for Europe,” has so far resisted imposing new sanctions on entities involved in the construction of the pipeline, even though U.S. lawmakers argued it would be the most effective way to stop the project.
Biden made his decision despite recent calls from Ukrainian politicians, civil society leaders and others opposing the move.
