The US will waive sanctions on the company in charge of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, a senior Biden administration official said, a change of tack that removes a key bone of contention between Washington and Berlin.
“I have determined that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application of sanctions,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, referring to Nord Stream 2 AG, the company overseeing the project, as well as its chief executive Matthias Warnig and the company’s corporate officers.
Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, saluted a “constructive step” that showed the US was “taking into account the really excellent relations that we’ve built up with the Biden administration”.