Biden is coming under pressure in connection with the Nord Stream 2

The government of US President Joe Biden is coming under pressure in connection with the controversial German-Russian Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2. The background is a report by the US news site "Axios" on Tuesday, according to which the US government wants to forego the application of sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG in Zug, Switzerland, and its German managing director Matthias Warnig. Republicans in the US Congress reacted indignantly. The top Republican in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, Michael McCaul, announced that if the "Axios" report were correct, it would be an indication that the Biden administration had never really wanted to prevent the pipeline. "This pipeline is not a simple commercial project that could affect our relations with (the government in) Berlin. It is a Russian project of malicious influence that threatens to deepen Europe's energy dependence on Moscow," criticized McCaul. "If the Putin regime is allowed to complete this pipeline, it will only be because the Biden government has decided to allow it." The Republican Senator Ben Sasse accused Biden of giving Russian President Vladimir Putin "massive strategic leverage in Europe". "Axios" had reported that in an upcoming report to the US Congress on sanctions because of the Nord Stream 2 construction, the US State Department only wanted to impose punitive measures on a few other Russian ships. The ministry also wanted to state that Nord Stream 2 AG and its managing director were involved in activities that could be sanctioned. To justify the waiver of punitive measures, the Ministry wants to cite national interests. The report to Congress is due every 90 days, the deadline expires this week. "Axios" interpreted the alleged decision of the Biden government to mean that it was unwilling to shatter its relations with Germany because of Nord Stream 2. The almost completed Baltic Sea pipeline has been one of the main points of contention in German-American relations for years.