[ 
Picture taken on Oct. 8, 2012 shows Nord Stream pipeline equipments before
the opening ceremony of the North Stream second gas link in Portovaya bay,
near the town of Vyborg in northwestern Russia. (Xinhua)
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WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) – The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that
Washington and Berlin had made progress on the contentious issue of the Nord
Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
The 1,230-km gas pipeline, expected to be completed next month, would bring
natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea.
“The Germans have put forward useful proposals and we have been able to make
progress on steps to achieve that shared goal … to ensure that Russia cannot
weaponize energy flows,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told
reporters during a daily briefing.
“We don’t have any final details to announce yet, but I expect we will be able
in a position to say more soon,” he added.
State Department counselor Derek Chollet is on his trip to Ukraine and Poland
this week. Price said Chollet will discuss the Nord Stream 2 and energy
security with the two eastern European nations, both against the pipeline
project.
The United States has long claimed that the project was a geopolitical
maneuver by Russia that will undermine Ukraine’s role in transiting energy to
Europe. Germany and Russia pointed out that the project is purely commercial.
During his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week, President
Joe Biden reiterated his concerns over the Nord Stream 2 project, warning
“Russia must not be allowed to use energy as a weapon to coerce or threaten
its neighbors.”
Citing the importance of relations with Germany and the difficulty to stop the
nearly completed pipeline, the Biden administration in May waived sanctions
against a company behind the pipeline project and its German CEO, which led to
opposition from bipartisan lawmakers. Enditem
