US in talks to reopen Nord Stream and control the gas
Berliner Zeitung reports closed-door contacts to reopen Nord Stream with the US as intermediary. Germany rejects the plan and the sabotage investigation remains open.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
US in talks to reopen Nord Stream and resell Russian gas
The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung reports that Washington is considering a key role in the possible restart of the Nord Stream pipelines. The paper's thesis is counterintuitive: the US does not merely fail to oppose Russian gas, it actually aims to broker its sale to Europe in order to expand its control over the region's energy infrastructure. According to the newspaper, the talks are closed to the public and the media. Le Monde diplomatique speaks of "diplomacy behind the scenes" without international institutions.
On 26 September 2022, unprecedented damage was recorded on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office peine a incivil investigation into an act of international terrorism.
Who turned off the tap: the dispute that never ends
Here is where the crux of the matter begins. Part of the analysis holds that it was Germany which blocked the launch of Nord Stream 2 in February 2022, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to sign the project's administrative authorisation. The same school of thought recalls that Nord Stream 1 stopped over a supposed maintenance review and problems with a turbine, and that the subsequent sabotage would have had Washington's blessing.
The opposing version is just as blunt: Russia would have cut off supplies as a form of pressure, proving itself an unreliable partner, and Europe would have responded by voluntarily giving up that gas. As for the turbine, this reading argues it was not even necessary for the volumes flowing at the time.
The only thing beyond dispute is the material fact: **three of the four strings** of the two pipelines were damaged in September 2022. Who pressed the button remains the subject of a incivil investigation in Russia and of administrative silence everywhere else.
What the US gains if Russian gas flows again
The economic argument running through the debate is simple: if Washington brokers the deal, it keeps the management and takes a commission on every molecule crossing the Baltic. The gas would still be Russian, but the bill would go through an American company and be paid in dollars. The European buyer would not choose between expensive LNG and cheap piped gas, but between two options equally burdened by the middleman.
Some read the move as a piece of the standoff with China, while others reduce it to the obvious: business is business. The detail nobody disputes is that Nord Stream 2's line B remained intact, so technically supply could resume without any new construction.
Germany rejects the plan and Brussels stays silent
The German government has signalled that neither Berlin nor the EU as a whole will accept the reopening of Nord Stream, according to the published reports. This is the position attributed to Chancellor Merz. The tug-of-war, then, is not between Moscow and Brussels, but within the Western bloc itself: the US pushing, Germany braking.
The cost of this back-and-forth is paid by European industry, which competes with more expensive energy than its rivals. Every month of indecision is a month of advantage for whoever does have the tap open.
What if the gas returns through the back door, with a middleman and a commission, without anyone having to admit they got it wrong?
The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung reports that Washington is considering a key role in the possible restart of the Nord Stream pipelines. The paper's thesis is counterintuitive: the US does not merely fail to oppose Russian gas, it actually aims to broker its sale to Europe in order to expand its control over the region's energy infrastructure. According to the newspaper, the talks are closed to the public and the media. Le Monde diplomatique speaks of "diplomacy behind the scenes" without international institutions.
On 26 September 2022, unprecedented damage was recorded on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office peine a incivil investigation into an act of international terrorism.
Who turned off the tap: the dispute that never ends
Here is where the crux of the matter begins. Part of the analysis holds that it was Germany which blocked the launch of Nord Stream 2 in February 2022, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to sign the project's administrative authorisation. The same school of thought recalls that Nord Stream 1 stopped over a supposed maintenance review and problems with a turbine, and that the subsequent sabotage would have had Washington's blessing.
The opposing version is just as blunt: Russia would have cut off supplies as a form of pressure, proving itself an unreliable partner, and Europe would have responded by voluntarily giving up that gas. As for the turbine, this reading argues it was not even necessary for the volumes flowing at the time.
The only thing beyond dispute is the material fact: **three of the four strings** of the two pipelines were damaged in September 2022. Who pressed the button remains the subject of a incivil investigation in Russia and of administrative silence everywhere else.
What the US gains if Russian gas flows again
The economic argument running through the debate is simple: if Washington brokers the deal, it keeps the management and takes a commission on every molecule crossing the Baltic. The gas would still be Russian, but the bill would go through an American company and be paid in dollars. The European buyer would not choose between expensive LNG and cheap piped gas, but between two options equally burdened by the middleman.
Some read the move as a piece of the standoff with China, while others reduce it to the obvious: business is business. The detail nobody disputes is that Nord Stream 2's line B remained intact, so technically supply could resume without any new construction.
Germany rejects the plan and Brussels stays silent
The German government has signalled that neither Berlin nor the EU as a whole will accept the reopening of Nord Stream, according to the published reports. This is the position attributed to Chancellor Merz. The tug-of-war, then, is not between Moscow and Brussels, but within the Western bloc itself: the US pushing, Germany braking.
The cost of this back-and-forth is paid by European industry, which competes with more expensive energy than its rivals. Every month of indecision is a month of advantage for whoever does have the tap open.
What if the gas returns through the back door, with a middleman and a commission, without anyone having to admit they got it wrong?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (51 replies).
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