US Senators Make Bipartisan Push for Talks With Germany on Shelving Russian Gas Link

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US senators pushed President Joe Biden to talk to the new German government about putting Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on ice, in an article published Friday by The Washington Post.

Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH), who took part in a video call of some 20 Congress members with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, have accused Russia of using energy resources as a weapon against Europe after it was hit by a pandemic-driven gas supply crunch.

"The administration should work closely with the new German government to keep the pipeline from becoming operational; it is in Europe's best interests to deny [President Vladimir] Putin another arm of influence over our allies", they wrote.

The senators called on Biden to reimpose sanctions on the subsea gas link. Nord Stream 2 was completed in the fall but its certification process by Germany has stalled and a decision is not expected until mid-2022. Ukraine and Poland stand to miss out on gas transit fees if the pipeline becomes operational.

Russia has repeatedly urged against politicising the project, expressing readiness to keep gas transit via Ukraine.