President Biden has pulled back from a confrontation with Russia and Germany by waiving sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline after years of US opposition.
To avoid souring relations with Germany, the Biden administration decided not to impose sanctions that had been recommended on the company behind the pipeline and its chief executive. As the project nears completion, Biden’s move to limit penalties on Russian entities and ships involved in its construction was welcomed by Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, but criticised by Republicans in Congress.
The Trump and Biden administrations loudly opposed the energy supply route through the Baltic Sea on the grounds that it would hand Moscow too much influence while potentially destabilising Ukraine by cutting it out of billions
