BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Germany will discuss “necessary common ground” with the U.S.
on relations with Russia after President Joe Biden opted not to punish the company overseeing a Russia-Germany pipeline project that Washington opposes.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been an irritant in relations between the U.S. and Germany for years. Washington, which has battled to block it, argues that the pipeline — now 95% complete — threatens European energy security, heightens Russia’s influence and poses risks to Ukraine and Poland in bypassing both countries.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Russian companies and ships for their work on the pipeline, but Biden angered many Democratic and