“Germany is paying Russia billions and billions of dollars, which, frankly speaking, we deem inappropriate; we never thought it was appropriate, and, certainly, this is very bad for the German people,” the US president stated.
Washington has for a number of geopolitical reasons spoken strictly against the construction of Nord Stream 2 and is taking measures to block the project. For instance, the CAATSA law (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), adopted last year, stipulates a possibility of slapping unilateral sanctions on companies, which, among others, are directly involved in the Nord Stream 2 project.
Nord Stream 2 AG is owned by Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom, while its investors include France's Engie, Austria's OMV AG, UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. The pipeline is designed to bring gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
The project has been welcomed by some countries in Europe, such as Germany and Austria, and opposed by others, including Ukraine, which may suffer transit revenue drops if Nord Stream 2 becomes operational.