[ 
A Nord Stream pipeline operator stands on a platform before the opening
ceremony of the North Stream 2 gas link in Portovaya bay, Russia, on Oct. 8,
2012. (Xinhua)
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WASHINGTON, May 19 (Xinhua) – The Biden administration plans to waive
sanctions against a company and its head overseeing the construction of the
Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany, U.S. media reported on
Wednesday.
The State Department will report to Congress on Wednesday that “Nord Stream 2
AG and its chief executive Matthias Warnig are engaged in sanctionable
activity under U.S. law but that the Biden administration decided to waive the
sanctions for national security reasons,” Bloomberg said in a piece.
Axios first reported the Biden administration’s plan to waive the sanctions on
Tuesday.
According to media reports, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday
confirmed and welcomed the U.S. move, calling it “a constructive step.”
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters
the same day that the Biden administration remained opposed to the pipeline
project and declined to comment on reports regarding the decision to waive
sanctions.
“The Biden administration has been clear that Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a bad
deal; it’s a Russian geopolitical project that threatens European energy
security, and that of the Ukraine and Eastern Flank NATO allies and partners,”
she said.
The move came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with his
Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the Arctic Council in
Iceland later Wednesday, the first high-level in-person talks between
Washington and Moscow since President Joe Biden took office.
The 1,230-km Nord Stream 2 pipeline is designed to pump natural gas from
Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea and could deliver 55 billion cubic
meters of gas annually. Both Germany and Russia point out that the project is
purely an economic one.
The pipeline is currently around 95 percent complete, and Germany has been
steadfast on the completion of the project despite opposition from the United
States. Enditem
