Germany on board to ditch Russia gas
WASHINGTON: The US is confident it has persuaded Germany to not open the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Russia if Moscow invades Ukraine.
“If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,” Victoria Nuland, the State Department’s number three official, said.
Asked why the US was confident, she said the pipeline still had not been tested or certified by Germany.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told parliament that her government was “working on a strong package of sanctions” alongside Western allies, “including Nord Stream 2”, if Russia attacks Ukraine.
Germany controversially pursued the pipeline with Russia, a vital source of gas to Europe’s largest economy, despite concerns that it will reduce Ukraine’s leverage by allowing Moscow to bypass its neighbour.
President Joe Biden drew domestic criticism last year by not imposing sanctions on the operator of Nord Stream, arguing that the pipeline was nearly finished, but his administration instead reached an understanding with Germany to use the project as leverage.
Ms Nuland also said that the US had asked China – like Russia, a US adversary – to discourage action by Moscow, which has amassed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s borders.
“We are calling on Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to urge diplomacy because if there is a conflict in Ukraine, it is not going to be good for China either,” Ms Nuland said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about the crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin next month visits Beijing for the Olympics, which the US is boycotting on the official level due to human rights concerns.
Meanwhile, there is a growing movement among Republicans asking why America should take sides.
Republicans in the House of Representatives and on the campaign trail have been breaking with conservative orthodoxy to complain loudly that the US should have no role in the crisis.
“Ukraine is over 5000 miles away. Dangerous drugs and violent crime are crossing my constituents’ backyards,” Arizona’s far right politician Paul Gosar tweeted this week.
The post was among more than a dozen public statements identified by news website Axios from House Republicans challenging the notion that America has any business getting involved.
It also reflects a pro-russia sentiment that took root under former president Donald Trump, who lionised Mr Putin as a “highly respected” leader and publicly sided with the former KGB spy over the US government.
“The Swamp will send troops to fight an invasion of Ukraine. They won’t send troops to stop the invasion of the US because they’re the ones facilitating it,” Mr Trump’s spokeswoman Liz Harrington said on Thursday.
The talking point has been tried out in Ohio’s Senate race, where Republican primary candidate J.D. Vance and his opponent Bernie Moreno have accused the Biden administration of being more concerned about Ukraine’s borders than America’s southern frontier.