How Putin’s billion pipeline split NATO and the EU at a time of crisis

How Putin’s $11 billion pipeline split NATO and the EU at a time of crisis

CNN

An undersea pipeline set to deliver gas from Russia to Germany has become exactly what the two countries have always insisted it would never be: A weapon in a geopolitical crisis.

The United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine and several European Union member states have fiercely opposed the pipeline ever since it was first announced in 2015, warning the project would boost Moscow’s influence in Europe.
The 1,200-km (750-mile) pipeline was completed in September and is now awaiting final certification. But even though the pipeline isn’t operational yet, it has already acted as a huge wedge between the traditional allies at a time of huge tensions between Russia and the West.
According to experts, that on its own is a win for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kristine Berzina, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a nonpartisan research center, said Moscow has benefited from the drama around the pipeline. “Everything about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been a victory for Russia,” she told CNN.
“Given that Russia’s aim is to split everybody, if they’re seeking to break apart unity in the European Union and in NATO, this pipeline has been a wonderful vessel.”
For years, both Russia and Germany argued that the pipeline is purely a business enterprise and has nothing to do with politics.
But in central and eastern Europe, where gas supplies from Russia play an essential role in power generation and home heating, few topics are more political than energy security. With natural gas prices already near a record high, many fear further tension could cause more pain to European consumers.
And while Russia has denied using energy to put pressure on Europe, the International Energy Agency has blamed Moscow for contributing to the European gas prices crisis by cutting supply.
The US and Europe are preparing for the possibility that Russia could weaponize its gas exports to Europe to retaliate for any possible sanctions. The Biden administration has been in regular discussions with a number of countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia about stepping up their production of liquified natural gas to Europe in the event that a Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to gas shortages, multiple US officials familiar with the discussions told CNN.
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