104 - February 2022 - How the Nordstream 2 did not got its certification - Merkel´s deal reaffirmed

Was the Nordstream #2 used as an energy weapon?

Angela Merkel said no, it was not.

Before the Ukrainian-Russian counflict started there was a political pressure 

from the UK, USA and several allies to close the Nordstream 2 if Russia enters Ukraine.

As a result the USA and Germany agreed on a deal for the Nordstream 2.

But the UK wanted more and aimed to reduce all Russian gas exports to Europe. 

 

SUMMARY:

January and February 2022 saw Nord Stream 2 reframed from a Russian leverage point over Europe—feared by critics like the U.S. and Ukraine for bypassing traditional transit routes—into a European leverage point against Russia. This shift was driven by diplomatic signaling, strategic recalculations, and Russia’s own provocations, culminating in a concrete policy move that underscored the pipeline’s newfound role in the West’s response to the looming conflict.

On February 7, U.S. President Joe Biden, standing with Scholz in Washington, vowed to "bring an end" to Nord Stream 2 if Russia invaded, cementing the pipeline’s role as a deterrent. Conditions of the deal has not yet kick in, Russia still did not enter Ukraine and so Biden was not being very specific about sharing conditions with public. This misunderstood statement became somehow widespread meme used as pseudo-evidence that the USA was voicing a plan to physically destroy both pipelines.

In February 22, 2022, when Scholz suspended Nord Stream 2’s certification process after Russia recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk breakaway regions, just days before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. This move, prompted by Putin’s actions, turned the leverage concept into action. Scholz’s decision—halting a key economic link—demonstrated Europe’s readiness to sacrifice energy ties to punish Russia, validating the earlier rhetoric from Blinken and others. The pipeline, once a lifeline for Russian gas, became a stalled asset, its fate tied to Russia’s behavior.

HOW NORDSTREAM 2 DID NOT GOT CERTIFICATION: 

4 Feb 2022 - EU Commission: “It is quite clear that Nord Stream 2 cannot be removed from the table as far as sanctions are concerned.”

6 Feb 2022 - SULLIVAN: Nord Stream 2 is leverage for us, not leverage for Vladimir Putin.

You said turn off Nord Stream 2. Nord Stream 2 hasn't been turned on. There is no gas flowing through Nord Stream 2 right now and there won't be for months, in part because of the diplomacy of the United States.

And we have been absolutely clear that if Russia invades Ukraine, one way or the other, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward. That's leverage for us that we have right now, so we intend to use that leverage and Vladimir Putin has a choice to make. If he chooses to move on Ukraine, he will not be getting the benefits of Nord Stream 2.

One of the things that President Biden has been very focused on is making sure that if Putin turns down the supply of gas to Europe, that we can find cargoes of liquefied natural gas going elsewhere in the world and redirect them to Europe. So the United States is prepared for a contingency against Russia 

7 Feb 2022 - Biden pledges end to Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades Ukraine

8 Feb 2022 - If Nord Stream 2 Dies, What Will It Cost Russia? Where Will Europe Get Its Natural Gas?

When President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared at the White House yesterday, they made clear that Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be left to die on the political battlefield — if Russia invades Ukraine. But what will that cost Russia, and where would Europe get its natural gas?

Moscow relies on hydrocarbons for 60% of its national budget, while oil and gas make up nearly one-third of its gross national product. It already provides about 39% of Europe’s gas.

“If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be – there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” Biden said during the news conference. “We will bring an end to it … I promise you we will be able to do it.”

Chancellor Scholz followed those remarks by saying that the two NATO allies stand shoulder-to-shoulder: "We're one voice, and do things together and we made it very clear if there was military aggression against Ukraine, this will entail severe consequences that we agreed upon together.”

Nord Stream 2 is a companion to Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline, and it allows Russia’s Gazprom to double its natural gas capacity headed to Europe. Russia exported 168 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe in 2020. Germany bought 56 billion cubic meters of that. Italy and the Netherlands followed with 20 billion and 11 billion, respectively.

09 Feb 2022 - Biden says he'll shut down Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia further invades Ukraine

"If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2,"

Biden said. "We will bring an end to it."

Asked how the U.S. would ensure that, Biden did not offer specifics:

"I promise you: We will be able to do it." It's a point Biden administration officials have stressed in recent weeks. 

22 Feb 2022 - Merkel´s deal reaffirmed

Two days before Russia's invasion, chancellor Olaf Scholz announced he had ordered the economy ministry to withdraw a supply security report, which is an essential element for certification, effectively putting the process on hold. This came as a reaction to Russia's president Vladimir Putin officially recognising two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

23 Feb 2022 - Statement by President Biden on Nord Stream 2 

 

THE DEAL IS A DEAL AKA PROMISES ARE KEPT:

26 May 2022 - The secret planning that kept the White House a step ahead of Russia

Germany was a reluctant but essential ally, and the Biden administration made a controversial decision last summer that was probably crucial in gaining German support against Russia.

Biden gave Germany a pass on an initial round of sanctions against a company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in exchange for a pledge from Chancellor Angela Merkel that if Russia invaded, Nord Stream 2 would be scrapped.

When the invasion came,

 Merkel was gone but her successor,

Olaf Scholz, kept the promise.

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Question remains, 

Why would the USA want to physically destroy both 

the Nordstream 2 AND Nordstream 1 

IF they had a deal which both countries honored?

NOTE: 

The UK did not have similar deal.

The UK after Brexit lost all legal ways how to stop the project

IF the UK wanted to end both projects, the only way was directly.

A covert operation.

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- INDEX -

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