On the air of C-SPAN, he noted that the US regards Russia as “a serious threat”.

“The allocation of 1% of GDP to defense, as Germany does, says that they may not quite perceive it as a serious threat, as the United States does. They need to do this, ”he said.

According to him, Germany must adhere to those obligations that it has undertaken in terms of defense spending. In 2014, NATO countries agreed to allocate 2% of GDP annually for defense.

The Secretary of State recalled that Washington is opposed to Nord Stream 2.

"A deep energy connection ... will give Putin the opportunity to harm Germany or threaten such damage," he stressed.

Earlier, the German Foreign Ministry said that possible US sanctions are obviously aimed at stopping Nord Stream 2, and they are unacceptable.

As the German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized, possible restrictive measures on the part of the United States regarding the project contradict the notions of law. 

In early June, the US Senate introduced a bill on sanctions against the project, which is aimed at clarifying and expanding existing sanctions.