Nord Stream will not proceed if Russia invades: US
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The US says it has reached an agreement with Germany to halt Nord Stream 2.
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Construction workers celebrating the completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.
"If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward," Victoria Nuland, a senior US State Department official, told reporters.
"I think the statements coming out of Berlin even today are very, very strong," she asserted.
When asked why Washington was so confident the Russian pipeline would not proceed, Nuland said the pipeline still had not been tested nor certified by German regulators.
"We will work with Germany to ensure that the pipeline does not move forward," Nuland said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told parliament earlier Thursday that her government was "working on a strong package of sanctions" alongside Western allies "including Nord Stream 2" if Russia attacks Ukraine.
Berlin had assured the United States that if the situation between Russia and Ukraine spirals into a conflict, the gas would not run via Nord Stream 2.
However, in reassurance to Moscow, Germany ruled out the abandonment of the project, the Bild newspaper reported Tuesday.
Germany had pursued the pipeline with Russia despite criticism from its allies. It is a vital source of gas to Europe's largest economy, despite concerns that it will reduce Ukraine's leverage by allowing Moscow to bypass its neighbor.
Gazprom increased Wednesday gas transit through Ukraine to Europe by more than 20% in comparison to last week's average, data from the Transmission System Operator of Ukraine and Slovakia's Eustream said.
The United States had not imposed sanctions on Gazprom, Nord Stream 2's Russian operator, which prompted officials within Washington to criticize President Biden.
The Biden administration argued that the pipeline was nearly finished and said it reached an understanding with Germany to use the project as a bargaining chip against Moscow.
Nuland also said that the United States had asked China to discourage action by Russia.
"We are calling on Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to urge diplomacy because if there is a conflict in Ukraine, it is not going to be good for China either," Nuland said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Wednesday about the crisis in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Russia has been backing China over its hosting of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, which the US called for boycotting.
Moscow slammed the decision, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the Olympic Games should be free of politics."
The West is accusing Russia of planning an invasion of its western neighbor despite Moscow dismissing these allegations.
Russia insists that it has no intention of attacking any country, seeing the Western accusations as a pretext to deploy more NATO military equipment close to Russia's borders.
At the same time, Moscow has been demanding a written commitment that Ukraine would never be able to join NATO and that the alliance would not place any strategic military equipment in certain countries in the region surrounding Russia.
