Germany considering how to disrupt restoration of Nord Stream 2 - Bild
Photo: Germany wants to disrupt the restoration of Nord Stream 2 (Getty Images)
Germany is exploring levers to prevent the resumption of Nord Stream 2. The pipeline may allegedly be restarted under an agreement between the US and Russia as part of the settlement of the war in Ukraine, Bild reports.
According to Bild and the Financial Times, secret talks have been going on between representatives of Russia and the United States for several weeks now about American investors buying the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
Bild's sources in the German government say that rumors of a deal between the United States and Russia to supply gas to Europe have been circulating for a long time. German government officials say that this is a realistic scenario.
According to the agency, the German government is studying the levers it can use to prevent the return of Nord Stream 2.
Several independent sources have confirmed to Bild that former US Ambassador to Berlin Richard Grenell participated in such secret negotiations. The agency asked Grenell about this in February, to which he replied: “Go ahead, publish that I am involved in this wild story.”
Now the diplomat claims that Bild never approached him and calls the agency fake news.
Foreign affairs expert of the CDU party Roderich Kiesewetter noted that the sale of Russian gas under the US brand would strengthen the ties between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. However, he emphasizes that Nord Stream can never be part of peace and will not contribute to peace negotiations.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that Matthias Warnig, a former agent and close associate of Russia's Vladimir Putin, is working on a project to restart the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe with the support of American investors.
According to the agency's sources, it was Warnig who initiated the idea, establishing contacts with the Trump team through American businessmen.
His plan envisages not only the restart of the gas pipeline, but also deeper economic cooperation between Washington and Moscow, including possible mediation in ending Russia's war against Ukraine.
