Germany and the USA seem to agree on the gas pipeline dispute – politics


In the dispute over the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, Germany and the USA have apparently come to an agreement. The news agency Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal (WJS) report, citing sources in Berlin and Washington DC. Accordingly, the negotiated deal could be announced as early as Wednesday.

According to reports, the US government has given up its opposition to the project to bring Russian gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine. In return, Germany is said to have committed itself to several concessions. Among other things, Germany and the USA will invest 50 million US dollars in the expansion of renewable energies in Ukraine, according to WJS. Germany will also support energy talks as part of the Three Seas Initiative, an initiative to strengthen Central European cooperation in the field of energy policy, among other things.

Both countries also want to ensure that Ukraine continues to receive billions in transit fees for gas supplied from Russia. The US also reserved the right to impose sanctions should Russia use energy supplies as leverage.

Ukraine fears that its gas pipeline going west through Nord Stream 2 will become superfluous, which not only threatens to avoid substantial transit fees, but also a strategic advantage in the otherwise very unequal balance of power with Russia. In the past few weeks, intensive negotiations have been held between the USA and Germany on how the dispute over the pipeline can be resolved.

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