Appointment Of Special Envoy To Kill Nord Stream 2 Shows US' Fears Of Losing Germany

Washington's alleged plans to appoint a special envoy to halt the construction of the nearly-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which aims to deliver Russian gas to Germany, are driven by fears of Berlin becoming dependent on Moscow, Bernhard Zimniok, a member of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, told Sputnik

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2021) Washington's alleged plans to appoint a special envoy to halt the construction of the nearly-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which aims to deliver Russian gas to Germany, are driven by fears of Berlin becoming dependent on Moscow, Bernhard Zimniok, a member of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, told Sputnik.

On Wednesday, the Politico news company reported, citing current and former US officials, that President Joe Biden was looking to appoint his ally as a special envoy for shutting down the gas project. The lead candidate to fill the position was named Amos Hochstein, a former US special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs during the Obama administration, who stepped down from the supervisory board of Ukraine's Naftogaz late last year.

"The designation of Special Envoy Amos Hochstein shows how important it seems to the US to prevent Nord Stream 2. The fear they always expressed that Germany would make itself dependent on Russian gas must be seen as an insult to intelligence," Zimniok said.

The German government, the lawmaker stressed, should make its position on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 clear and communicate to the Biden administration that interfering in Germany's internal affairs was unacceptable.

"With the appointment of a special representative, who should deal exclusively with sabotaging an energy project that is important for Germany, an escalation level has been reached that must necessarily result in a clear diplomatic response from the [German] Federal government," Zimniok noted.

So far, Berlin has defied Washington's pressure to abandon the project, which will see Russia pump 55 billion cubic meters of gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea every year. The German government has rejected US sanctions on companies involved in its construction as illegal and extraterritorial.