USA and Germany signed an agreement on "Nord Stream 2"

The agreements between the White House and the Bundestag were reached the day before, and today they were officially announced. The United States, recognizing that the sanctions on the construction of the pipeline are ineffective, reserved the right to take action in response to the use of energy by Russia as a "geopolitical weapon in Europe" and "aggression against Ukraine".

Berlin was assured of its readiness to take "quick action" at the national level and "insist on effective measures at the EU level," including sanctions on the supply of energy resources from the Russian Federation.

Germany promised to appoint a special envoy and "use all its possible influence" to extend the transit of gas from the Russian Federation through Ukrainian territory after 2024, after the expiration of a five-year contract. Moreover, the United States intends to achieve an extension for ten years at once.

Also, Germany should create a "green fund" for Ukraine and allocate $ 1 billion "to support the energy transition, energy efficiency and energy security of the country." Berlin will initially contribute $ 175 million.

With regard to the gas pipeline itself, Germany intends to adhere to the requirements of the EU's third energy package, according to which the energy infrastructure of the EU countries must be independent of energy or electricity suppliers. The United States, for its part, pledged to support the work of Germany and France in the Normandy format. Germany has promised to intensify efforts to implement the Minsk agreements.

Alexander Rahr, director of the Russia and CIS programs of the German Council on Foreign Policy, told NEWS.ru that Berlin is glad that it will be possible to avoid a further quarrel with the Americans. In Germany, this deal was positively assessed. “Many people write that Merkel won a great victory, that she was able to reconcile with the Americans, and they understood the German arguments. In addition, a very large proportion of Germans are in favor of cooperation with Russia, and therefore they are also considering this US-German deal in this direction, ”Rahr explained.

Formerly the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow will fulfill its obligations on gas transit through the territory of Ukraine. The Russian President assured the West that Moscow will continue to follow the agreement "despite all the difficulties of the day".

For her part, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the reaction of the European Union if Russia violates its obligations to transit gas through Ukraine. In her opinion, Nord Stream 2 should become a supplement to gas transit through Ukraine, and not cancel it. She predicted that a different development of events would cause "tension" in Europe.