Lawmakers on both sides noted that the pipeline would place Russian infrastructure within NATO territory and thus threaten its member states, making some European countries more dependent on Russian energy. It would also deprive Ukraine of billions of dollars in revenue, allowing Russia to bypass the country by transferring gas to Europe.
But the diplomatic situation is delicate, officials said. The government wants to stop the project – Biden called it “a bad deal for Europe” – but it also wants to strengthen US relations with Germany, which has been lobbying for the construction of the pipeline to continue unabated.
“We are between a rock and a difficult position,” said a second senior government official.
There is also bipartisan political pressure for the Biden government to act. Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, but gave little clarity about what the government plans to do, prompting immediate reaction.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who co-authored a clause in the annual defense bill requiring sanctions on entities supporting the pipeline construction, suspended several Biden nominees to pressure the president to act.
“If the Biden government hesitates, if they defy the law, they will have transformed a major foreign policy victory for the United States into a major foreign policy loss and a billion dollar gift perpetually to Vladimir Putin,” said Cruz, who is delaying Senate Confirmation of Biden nominees for CIA director and deputy secretary of state, among others.
“I told Secretary Blinken that I would be thrilled to lift restrictions on State Department nominees today if they would only comply with the law and issue an interim report identifying all companies subject to mandatory sanctions,” added Cruz.
Can Germany reach an agreement?
Analysts said the worst outcome for the Biden government would be to impose severe sanctions on a project that is more than 90 percent complete, only to see it finished anyway. The German government, for its part, has made several potential offers to make the United States withdraw from the pipeline, said people familiar with the talks, including trade deals and increased investment in green energy projects in Europe and Ukraine.
“The question is whether Germany can reach an agreement that [Biden] I couldn’t refuse, ”said a former ambassador who is following the negotiations. “Biden could then go to Congress with that and say, ‘See what we have.'”
A spokesman for the German Ministry of Finance confirmed that the German government “is in contact with the US government regarding US sanctions and threats of sanctions in relation to Nord Stream 2”, but said that these conversations are confidential and not would comment more.
The first senior government official also refused to disclose details of the government’s diplomatic negotiations with Germany, but said he made it clear to Berlin that Biden sees the pipeline “as a clear example of Russia’s aggressive action in the region, which it supplies to Russia. the means to use a critical natural resource for political pressure and evil influence against Europe. ”
Possible items that Germany could offer would include partnering with the United States to invest in energy projects in Central and Eastern Europe and joining the Biden government to take a tougher stance against China, said people who have observed the pipeline issue. Last year, the German Ministry of Finance offered to spend € 1 billion to “massively increase its public support for the construction of LNG terminals along the German coast” in exchange for the “construction and operation without obstacles of Nord Stream 2.” The offer has gone nowhere with the Trump administration.
A lobbyist involved in efforts to stop the project said that some government officials hope to buy time until Germany’s federal elections in September, which could see the country’s Green Party gain power and potentially pull out of the pipeline project. Lawsuits targeting Danish licenses for the pipeline are likely to keep construction on hold until at least May, said Constantin Zerger, head of energy and climate change programs at Environmental Action Germany, the group that leads the court’s efforts.
But with the pipeline almost complete, members of Congress are increasingly anxious about it.
“What I would like to see is for the government to act quickly to shut down the remaining section of the pipeline,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.).
A “complete diplomatic boost” in Russia
While it is not yet clear which entities the government will sanction next, they are likely to include Russian vessels and companies involved in the project, said people familiar with the internal deliberations. Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Blinken last week naming more than a dozen such entities, including Russian offshore supply ships and insurers and inspection companies that have been identified by open source marine trackers.
Cruz said he handed Blinken a report on Thursday from one of those vessel trackers – the Danish Maritime Authority – that identified the ships that assist in the construction of the pipeline, thus subjecting them to sanctions.
The government sent a report to Congress last month identifying two Russian vessels involved in the construction of the pipeline, but lawmakers considered the report inappropriate because these entities had already been sanctioned by President Donald Trump. Lawmakers hoped that the State Department would list other entities, which would further hinder construction.
The senators emerged from the secret briefing with Blinken on Thursday with no clear idea of what measures the Biden government will take. Shaheen, who joined Cruz in the initial sanctions effort, said it was “not yet clear” whether the government would act quickly enough to prevent the pipeline from being completed.
Senator Bob Menendez (DN.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Blinken conveyed to lawmakers that the government was “reviewing all possibilities”, adding: “The government is opposed to this and is doing the that is necessary to follow your opposition to him. ”He said Biden was in the midst of a” total diplomatic effort to stop Nord Stream 2. “
At the same time, the Biden government is launching separate sanctions against Russia over a series of evil activities, including the cyber attack Solar Winds and the Kremlin’s pursuit of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
But some senators have expressed concern about heightened tensions with Germany by seeking aggressive punishments on the pipeline, particularly after the Trump administration alienated the European ally on a number of issues.
“I think that as long as we target Russian assets, we will be on safe ground,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “This is not the time to create any greater breach with Europe than is absolutely necessary.”