Biden’s Nord Stream 2 waiver prompts criticism

The decision by U. S. President Joe Biden on May 19 to waive key sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea has triggered bipartisan protests, as well as dismay from Ukraine and the nation’s friends and allies around the world.

“I have determined that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, its CEO Matthias Warnig, and Nord Stream 2 AG’s corporate officers,” U. S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement on May 20.  Blinken added that the action was “consistent with the president’s pledge to rebuild relationships with our allies and partners in Europe.”