From the very beginning of the construction of the pipeline, the United States made it clear that it would not allow to finish it calmly.
Initially, attempts by the US government to influence diplomatic channels or media targeting members of the EU Commission, the European Parliament, and those EU member states whose governments have been spreading rumors of a Russian threat for many years were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the United States does not despair and is trying to suspend the construction of the gas pipeline by imposing sanctions.
What is it about? The United States is committed to sanctioning companies and individuals involved in the construction and subsequent operation of the pipeline under section 232 CAATSA.
These sanctions are clearly contrary to international law, since the national law of the state is applied extraterritorially.
We can track this behavior of the United States over and over again in recent years, as in the case of Iran. Without going into the details of this issue: the imposed sanctions can only have an impact because of the role of the US dollar in the global financial system. This procedure is commonly referred to as blackmail.
The German government has publicly prohibited any interference in Germany’s activities. However, this is not enough to dissuade the United States from trying to stop the Nord Stream 2 project. In the end, a criminal who demands money from a citizen with a revolver only gets annoyed if they try to agree with him in an amicable way.
What advice can you give to the German government? Under no circumstances should it try to do the same, that is, resort to sanctions. Because then Germany will support the “erosion of international law” it is complaining about now.
The main reason for the United States’ obstruction by its power elite, which operates independently of the presidency, is geopolitical. Cooperation between Germany and Russia in the energy sector is undoubtedly the building block on the long journey towards the Eurasian economic space, which inevitably also entails a new security architecture.
On the other hand, other reasons, such as the sale of American gas to the EU, play a secondary role and, at best, serve as a campaign theme for President Trump. But we all know that Nord Stream 2 is important for both Russia and Germany, both from a geopolitical and economic point of view. And the US cannot be allowed to indulge in blackmail.