US waives sanctions on Nord Stream 2

The Biden administration announced on May 19 that it
would not sanction the companies insuring and certifying the ships laying the
Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In a press briefing posted on state.gov, a State
Department spokesperson stated that the impetus for the move was to shore up
ties with Germany, and that “all diplomatic tools” would still be used to
prevent the completion of the pipeline.

The move has come under fire from across the political
spectrum in the United States, with energy security and support from CEE
partners both being raised as concerns. Moreover, the move came as Secretary of
State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in
Reykjavik in advance of a summit between presidents Biden and Putin.

James Hydzik: Few
commentators have paid attention to the Biden Administration’s attempt to paint
this move in terms of improving ties with Germany. This is unfortunate, as it
gives them the opportunity to ask why the administration would be reluctant to
put under sanction an ex-Stasi operative who, according to the Wikipedia entry
in English, may have worked with Putin when he was in East Germany.

For Ukraine, the likelihood that the pipeline will be
completed is once again a real specter. The hit that the Ukrainian budget would
take once it is in operation is palpable as well. Whether being able to cease
gas flows through Ukraine in order to marginalize the country’s importance
before a military campaign is a point raised by some observers in Ukraine, but
Ukraine’s geopolitical importance is now such that this is unlikely to be a
factor.