A senior congressional aide told Reuters on Tuesday (December 7) that US officials told members of Congress that they had reached an agreement with Germany to close the Beixi 2 natural gas pipeline if Russia invaded Ukraine.
The White House stated that Germany has made a commitment on the Beixi 2 pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea in order to prevent Russia from taking radical actions.
The White House said that US President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the West was worried that Russia would invade Ukraine and warned that if Moscow starts a military conflict, it will take “strong economic and other measures” as punishment.
US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said that the fact that natural gas has not yet passed through Nord Stream 2, led by the Russian gas giant Gazprom, has created Western influence on Putin.
Sullivan told reporters at the White House: “If Vladimir Putin wants to see natural gas pass through that pipeline, he may not want to risk invading Ukraine.”
Sullivan said that in the context of a potential invasion, the United States has been in contact with the outgoing and incoming German government regarding the Beixi 2 project. He declined to further describe the characteristics of the conversation.
“In the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the coming weeks, the future theme of Beixi 2 is the top priority. It has been thoroughly discussed,” he said.
The congressional assistant said that US officials stated that they had received assurances from Germany that the pipeline would be closed. But the aide said that it is not clear whether the two parties have reached an agreement on the definition of invasion.
A European diplomat told Reuters that US officials have made it clear to allies that if an invasion occurs, they will take action to sanction the pipeline, which may render any German actions meaningless.
“If the United States imposes (additional) sanctions, it is an academic point of view because no one can do business with Nord Stream 2 because of fear of violating U.S. sanctions.”
German officials told reporters on Tuesday that there is still a process that needs to be completed before the pipeline starts operations.
Biden has long opposed the Russian-German pipeline. The US State Department has sanctioned its related Russian entities, but has not sanctioned the companies behind it because it tried to rebuild relations with Germany that had deteriorated during the Donald Trump administration.
