US Ambassador Grenell sees the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project as an intervention in the security of Europe and Ukraine. In a letter he turns to German corporations.
In the dispute over the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2, the US Ambassador in Berlin, Richard Grenell, puts increasing pressure on German companies. After threatening sanctions at the end of December, he wrote a letter to several companies involved in the project, as reported by Bild am Sonntag.
We continue to emphasize that companies involved in the Russian energy export sector are participating in something that carries a significant risk of sanctions, „the paper quoted from the letter.“ As a result, companies that support the construction of both pipelines are undermining, actively the security of Ukraine and Europe. “
Nord Stream 2 is to transport gas directly from Russia via the Baltic Sea to Germany. Several German companies are involved in the pipeline. The construction of the 1,200 kilometer long route has already begun. The US and Ukraine, but also some eastern EU states like Poland want to stop it. They argue with the threat emanating from Russia. Transit fees for Russian gas are also an important source of income for Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.
Grenell went on to say that the EU depended on Russia for energy security. Companies would have to be aware of the danger that the project posed to European energy security, and what reputational losses and sanctions would be associated with it. The US Embassy said the letter was not a threat, but a clear message of US policy.
The Russian company Gazprom is formally the sole shareholder of the project company Nord Stream 2. The company has signed financing agreements with the German companies Wintershall and Uniper as well as the Dutch-British Shell, Engie (formerly GDF Suez) from France and OMV from Austria.
