Germans Aim to Kneecap U.S. Sanctions on Russia (Nord Stream 2)

[TomSea]

Other articles say the opposite of this article, one of those articles is posted after the first one. We need to block Nordstream 2, I"m glad Trump said he'd sign it.

Germans Aim to Kneecap U.S. Sanctions on Russia
German officials warn about major blowback from U.S. efforts to block a natural gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany.
Betsy Swan

Political Reporter
Published Dec. 20, 2019 12:57PM ET

Late on Friday, President Donald Trump is set to sign legislation sanctioning a gas pipeline project that would run from Russia to Germany. The Ukrainian government has worked to stop the project. The German government, meanwhile, opposes the sanctions. In a final series of meetings aiming to stave them off, Berlin officials made statements that frustrated both Ukrainian and U.S. officials, according to five sources with knowledge of the talks.

The Germans have intimated that the U.S. will have a harder time holding together Western sanctions on Russia if it blocks the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline, according to three of those sources, and they suggest the American action could endanger crucial gas transit talks among Germany, Ukraine, and Russia.

Berlin also says success of those talks is vital to American national security, and that this justifies shielding the project from the sanctions designed to stop it.

Read more at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/germans-aim-to-kneecap-us-sanctions-on-russia

So, which is it?

Germany resigned to US sanctions over Russia gas pipeline
Associated Press
December 20, 2019 — 9:20am

BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Friday he was "under no illusions" that proposed U.S. sanctions against companies involved in building a Russian gas pipeline to Europe might be stopped at the last minute.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign a Senate bill later Friday that provides for sanctions against companies involved in laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline through the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.

Maas told reporters in Berlin that the question now was how the sanctions will be implemented.

Read more at: http://www.startribune.com/germany-resigned-to-us-sanctions-over-russia-gas-pipeline/566375602/

I'm not positive the headline on this 2nd story actually matches the article itself.

[TomSea]

And this, 2 days ago:

U.S. Concedes Defeat on Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, Officials Say
Jennifer Jacobs and Nick Wadhams

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has little leverage to prevent the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany from being completed, two senior administration officials said, acknowledging the failure of a years-long effort to head off what officials believe is a threat to European security.

One of the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing the administration’s take on the project, said the pipeline is nearly complete and sanctions passed Tuesday as part of a U.S. defense bill are too late to have any effect. The U.S. will instead try to impose costs on other Russian energy projects, the official added.

The admission is a rare concession on what had been a top foreign-policy priority for the Trump administration and highlights how European allies such as Germany have been impervious to American pressure to abandon the pipeline. It also shows how the U.S. has struggled to deter Russia from flexing its muscles on issues ranging from energy to Ukraine to election interference.

Read more at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-concedes-defeat-on-nord-stream-2-pipeline-officials-say/ar-BBY6moK

So, reading these 3 articles, I'd say it doesn't sound good that the sanctions will stop this.

[TomSea]

Already from overnight:

BREAKING NEWS
Allseas suspends Nord Stream 2 work ahead of U.S. defense bill
By REUTERS   DECEMBER 21, 2019 04:17

Swiss-Dutch company Allseas said it had suspended its pipe-laying activities in the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline in anticipation of US President Donald Trump's signing of a defense policy bill on Friday.

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Allseas-suspends-Nord-Stream-2-work-ahead-of-US-defense-bill-611636