In a recent statement for the Atlantic Council think tank, Annalena Baerbock criticized German leader Angela Merkel for failing to clearly side with Central European countries when they raised concerns over the controversial gas link, the energetyka24.com reported.
The German politician told the US-based think tank that it was inconsistent of the government in Berlin to support Nord Stream 2 amid ongoing efforts to make Europe independent of Russian gas supplies, according to energetyka24.com.
Baerbock's statement comes at a time when President Joe Biden’s administration is looking for ways to stymie the nearly completed energy project, which could serve as a major financial and geopolitical boon to Moscow, according to a report last month by the Politico news service.
A high-ranking German politician in March called for a construction moratorium on the Nord Stream 2 project, according to a report at the time by energetyka24.com.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in March that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany could undermine the interests of a number of NATO allies, including Poland.
Speaking on a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Blinken said Biden “believes the pipeline is a bad idea, bad for Europe, bad for the United States.”
Nord Stream 2, designed to double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline, is expected to send around 55 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas a year directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea while bypassing the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine.
Poland has strongly criticised the gas link amid concerns that the pipeline will make the European Union more dependent on Russian gas.
(gs/pk)
Source: energetyka24.com