“We will monitor the completion and certification of the pipeline and, if such activity takes place, make a decision on the applicability of the sanctions,” the diplomat said.
Thus, he commented on the reports of the Handelsblatt newspaper, according to which the United States signaled its readiness to start a dialogue on lifting sanctions from the pipeline.
As noted by the publication, the condition for this is the submission of proposals by Germany, which will eliminate US concerns about the project.
In late January, the White House said that US President Joe Biden considered Nord Stream 2 a bad deal for Europe.
As the German Foreign Ministry later emphasized, with the coming to power of the new administration in the United States, Berlin will not change its position on Nord Stream 2.