U.S. politicians unhappy with U.S.-Germany deal on Nord Stream 2 - Axios

Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz expressed outrage and Democrats like Sen. Tim Kaine voiced concern, the report said.

According to the article, Ukraine and U.S. allies on the eastern flank of NATO argue the pipeline will make it easier for Moscow to isolate Kyiv and pressure Europe. They say the U.S.-Germany deal doesn't sufficiently address those concerns.

For Russia and Germany, though, the deal is confirmation a natural gas pipeline the Biden White House has called "a Kremlin geopolitical project that threatens European energy security" will be completed.

At the same time, the Biden administration argued on Wednesday, July 21, it was Donald Trump who missed a chance to stop the pipeline by implementing sanctions sooner.

Germany pledged to "take action at the national level and press for effective measures at the European level, including sanctions," if Russia tries to "use energy as a weapon" or cuts off gas to its neighbor. That would now be much simpler as Nord Stream 2 circumvents Ukraine, unlike existing pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe, Axios wrote.

While members of the Biden administration were finalizing their deal with Germany, they were working with the Ukrainians to set a date for Volodymyr Zelensky's White House visit, which the Ukrainian president had initially stated would be in July. But the visit is now set for August 30, at which point Congress will be out of session and Zelensky will have a much harder time rallying opposition in Washington to the pipeline.

Earlier, reports emerged in U.S. media outlets on the agreement reached between Joe Biden's administration and Angela Merkel's government, which would allow the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in exchange for European security guarantees.

op