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Production plant in Russia: The Baltic Sea pipeline will be completed soon
Photo: MAXIM SHEMETOV / REUTERS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has appointed a top advisor for energy security who should endeavor to "reduce the risks" of the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The appointment of diplomat Amos Hochstein underscores the US government's determination to prevent Russia from using its energy reserves as a geopolitical weapon, Blinken said in Washington on Tuesday.
Hochstein will endeavor to help Ukraine and the eastern NATO and EU states to achieve a safer and more sustainable energy future, said Blinken. Hochstein is known for his critical stance towards Russia. For the administration of then President Barack Obama, he was special envoy for international energy affairs in the State Department. Since 2017 he has worked in the private sector, including energy companies.
In the year-long dispute over the German-Russian Baltic Sea pipeline, Berlin and Washington announced a breakthrough in July.
They issued a joint statement pledging support to Ukraine.
Among other things, Germany undertook to use all possible means of influencing the extension of Ukraine's gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires in 2024, by up to ten years.
Blinken said that Hochstein should now try to implement the agreement.
USA criticizes dependence on Russia
The almost completed Baltic Sea pipeline is supposed to bring Russian gas to Germany - bypassing the Ukraine, which is dependent on the income from the gas transit.
The USA had massively criticized Nord Stream 2 for years and are still against the project.
The Americans argue that Nord Stream 2 makes Germany too dependent on Russia.
However, they also have an interest in selling natural gas themselves.
In the pipeline dispute, ex-US President Donald Trump successfully urged the Europeans to commit to purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US.
Critics see the pipeline as a geopolitical project by Russia that threatens Europe's energy security.
Both the USA and previous transit countries for Russian gas, particularly Ukraine, express this concern.
muk / dpa
