The White House believes that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project has no chance of being implemented.

This was announced to the German DPA by a representative of the American government, who wished to remain anonymous.

The official believes that Nord Stream AG is creating "frightening hype" around the construction of a 2.6 km long pipe section, while this is "a pipe through which Russian gas will never be supplied."

“If (the company) Nord Stream 2 could actually complete the project, they would have done it a long time ago,” the Frankfurter Allgemeine quoted him as saying.

On December 11, the operator of Nord Stream 2, Nord Stream 2 AG, announced the resumption of work on laying the gas pipeline.

The unfinished section of the gas pipeline is being laid by the pipe-laying vessel Fortuna.

Work is going on in the exclusive economic zone of the Federal Republic of Germany - we are talking about laying a section 2.6 kilometers long at a depth of less than 30 meters.

  • Pipe-laying barge "Fortuna"

  • Reuters

  • © Oliver Denzer / File

“All construction work is being carried out in full compliance with the permits received,” the company said.

Earlier, the German authorities agreed to lay a gas pipeline in German waters during December.

This was reported by the Federal Office for Shipping and Hydrography of Germany (BSH).

An application for the continuation of work in January-April 2021 is also being considered.

“The works have been approved for December.

For work in January-April, it is necessary to complete the procedure for agreeing on changes (to the general permit for work), ”RIA Novosti quotes BSH speaker Merle Mansfeld.

As a reminder, the laying of two strings of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline began in 2018.

The total capacity of the pipeline will be 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, the length - 1200 km.

It was planned that the gas pipeline would be built by the end of 2019, but the dates were shifted due to the US sanctions pressure.

Recall that in December 2019, Washington imposed sanctions on the project, restrictions were laid down in the US defense budget.

After that, the Swiss company Allseas, which was laying pipes for Nord Stream 2, curtailed the work out of fears of falling under US sanctions.

As Alexei Grivach, deputy general director for gas issues of the National Energy Security Fund, noted in an interview with RT, it is now difficult to estimate exactly how long it will take to complete the laying of the gas pipeline.

“Construction is complicated by serious pressure from the United States, and there are weather factors and other factors that are difficult to calculate.

However, in general, a small amount of work remained - only 6% of the route remained to be laid, ”the expert explained. 

New sanctions

On December 11, the US Senate by a majority vote adopted the country's defense budget for fiscal 2021 (started on October 1) (National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA), which provides for further restrictions on gas projects.

84 senators voted for the document, 13 were against, three did not participate in the voting.

Earlier, the bill was passed by the lower house of the US Congress.

300 out of 438 congressmen voted for the document.

The defense budget envisages tougher sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream gas pipelines.

The document contains a provision that supplements a subsection of the US Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act (PEESA), which is about "clarifying and expanding" the sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream gas transmission projects.

  • US Capitol Building

  • Reuters

  • © Leah Millis

Earlier, Washington's plans to toughen sanctions were commented on in Moscow.

As the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said, such steps "contradict the principles of international trade and international law."

The new amendments provide for sanctions against companies that provide insurance and underwriting (underwriting - guarantees to receive payments in case of financial losses. -

RT

) services within projects.

In October 2020, the US State Department expanded the interpretation of the current restrictions on the PEESA line, explaining that they no longer affect only those companies that are engaged in pipe-laying, but also companies that provide services to the project and supply goods.

As a result, the Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas - Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL), which was involved in the verification of construction works for compliance with standards, withdrew from the Nord Stream 2 project.

Despite this, experts believe that the measures included in the new US defense budget contain potential opportunities for easing sanctions policy.

“There are reservations in this draft budget that allow the US President not to impose sanctions or to go for some softening on issues related to national security.

This leaves an opportunity for Nord Stream 2 to be completed, "Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, explained in a commentary to RT.

Alexey Grivach has a similar opinion.

“From the bill passed by the Senate, the most harsh formulations were excluded.

This was done to leave room for maneuver.

However, Washington's rhetoric will remain the same, ”the expert is sure.

It should be noted that earlier the head of the White House, Donald Trump, threatened to block the adoption of the defense budget.

The American president expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the law did not include clauses on the abolition of Section 230 of the US Communication Decency Act.

This section relieves social networks of responsibility for content posted by users.

In addition, Trump is outraged that the law does not spell out the rules for the protection of national monuments and there is no provision for the reduction of the US overseas contingent.

A delay in the adoption of the budget would postpone the entry into force of new sanctions against Nord Stream 2.

However, Trump will not be able to veto the document as it was passed by two-thirds of the Senate.

"Trump can, of course, veto, but it will be overcome by the legislature," Sidorov explained. 

Room to maneuver

The plans of the US authorities to adopt the next sanctions against Nord Stream 2 did not come as a surprise to the Russian side.

As the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said during a briefing on December 10, Moscow constantly records such steps.

They are being undertaken as part of the policy of "containment" of Russia, for the sake of which the United States "will use all the possibilities that one can imagine," Zakharova explained.

“We understand perfectly well that the United States will not stop trying to prevent Russia from implementing not only this project (Nord Stream 2), but also foreign policy and international activities in general,” Zakharova added.

At the same time, Russia has a program for the implementation of the project, and "concrete steps to be taken," the Foreign Ministry added.

  • Maria Zakharova

  • RIA News

  • © Press Service of the Russian Foreign Ministry

Moscow's German partners are also making efforts to ease pressure from Washington.

In early December, Bild, citing an anonymous source, reported that the State Chancellery of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is working on creating tools to circumvent US sanctions.

Earlier, in October 2020, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed confidence that Nord Stream 2 would be completed.

“I proceed from the assumption that Nord Stream 2 will be completed.

The question is when, ”the head of German diplomacy said in an interview with RND.

Responding to the comment of journalists that both Republicans and Democrats in the United States oppose the project, the minister recalled that the European side itself makes decisions on its energy policy.  

According to Andrei Sidorov, although Washington's rhetoric on the Nord Stream 2 issue will remain harsh, in practice the United States will no longer interfere with the construction of the gas pipeline.

Nord Stream 2 will be completed.

It should be understood that Democrat Joe Biden wants to return transatlantic relations to their previous high level, and the EU authorities want the gas project to be implemented.

Therefore, Biden may not interfere with construction.

Later, however, the United States is likely to make efforts to ensure that this is the last gas pipeline from Russia to Europe.

And for sure, Washington will do everything to freeze the volume of Russian gas supplies to the European market.

But this is already another stage, a question for the future, ”the expert believes.

Andrey Grivach adheres to a similar point of view.

Speaking about the statement of the American administration, which was broadcast by the German media, the expert noted that it is unlikely that an official of the US administration would hide his name if he believed in his forecast.

  • Construction of "Nord Stream-2"

  • © nord-stream2.com

“However, such an anonymous statement reflects the position of the United States, for which cooperation between Russia and Europe is like a bone in the throat.

The United States will try to use every opportunity to stop the construction of Nord Stream 2 at the last moment.

These are, first of all, sanctions.

However, Washington does not want to burn all the bridges in relations with the EU and will leave room for maneuver.

The United States does not have many opportunities to try to stop construction if both Russia and Europe will jointly oppose this pressure, ”the expert concluded.