The Americans are afraid that the new gas pipeline will give Russia too much influence in the supply of energy to Europe. Nord Stream 2 runs directly from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, bypassing Eastern European countries such as Ukraine and Poland.
Still, the White House agreed. The deal between US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Merkel is that Russia will face sanctions if the Putin administration uses energy “as a weapon” or takes aggressive actions against Ukraine, the US and Germany said last night in a statement. a joint statement.
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‘Selfish meddling’
The controversial gas project has been causing great tensions between Europe and the United States for years, and also within the European Union itself. The Germans and the Russians have always claimed that it is a commercial project of the Russian gas company Gazprom and European partner companies such as Shell, Uniper and Total, and that Nord Stream 2 is necessary for the enormous energy needs in Western Europe.
“Russia has always maintained that the pipeline is not a political tool to make Europe dependent on Russian gas,” said correspondent Eva Hartog. “They call it a purely economic project that benefits both Europe and Russia. “The Russian government sees the interference of the Americans as selfish meddling.”
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Close gas tap
Opponents disagree. They think that Europe is becoming too dependent on Russian gas and expect that Putin will turn off the gas tap in the future if it suits him politically.
But there are many more interests at stake, says geopolitical analyst Isa Yusibov. “The Americans themselves also want to sell shale gas to European countries. But that will not happen because Europe now has enough gas.” Yusibov thinks that Germany has therefore met the Americans in a different way. “It’s certain that America will get something in return. We don’t know what that is yet.”
According to Yusibov, the EU does not need the gas pipeline. “There is no extra demand for gas. We are now dependent on Russia for just over 40 percent of the gas we use in the EU. But gas consumption is actually decreasing due to the phasing out of fossil fuels.”
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Promises for Ukraine
Then there is Ukraine, which currently earns money as a transit country, but which may soon be completely ignored by Russia. That chance seems high, since the current contract between the two countries expires in 2024 and the two countries have also been fighting an armed conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
Ukraine now has to make do with guarantees that Russia keeps its word and will also receive 175 million dollars (more than 148 million euros) from Germany for a green energy transition. The money will be put into a fund, which must increase to 1 billion dollars with contributions from companies.
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Military operations?
But what prevails in Ukraine is fear and a sense of abandonment, as evidenced by the first reactions. “That fear is well-founded,” Yusibov says. “Not only are they missing out on revenue. There is also a national security problem.”
That’s because the gas pipeline runs directly to Germany. Putin is therefore no longer dependent on the intermediate countries Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Slovakia. “He has full control over the gas pipeline and can sideline these countries. Moreover, Russia has its hands free to put pressure on those countries, or even conduct military operations if it wants to, without affecting the gas supply in Western Europe.” thereby jeopardized.”
Big winner
Russia is therefore considered the big winner of last night’s compromise between Germany and the US. “For Russia, the biggest advantage of this deal is that there is now certainty,” Hartog says. “Over the past few years, Nord Stream 2 has been brought up again and again as a way to put pressure on Russia.”
From Moscow this was seen as blackmail, says the Russia correspondent. “That it now appears to be finally going ahead will be interpreted by Russia as a victory and an example of successful resistance to American meddling.”
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