Merkel, Macron to Put Aside Differences on Russian Gas Pipeline Bloomberg 2/5/2021 Arne Delfs, Rudy Ruitenberg and Raymond Colitt
(Bloomberg) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron sought to iron out differences over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline ahead of talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the controversial Russian project.
The two leaders spoke “very openly” about the disputed gas pipeline, Merkel said on Friday after a video conference with her French counterpart.
“On this project, which is almost finished, nothing will be announced without close Franco-German coordination,” Macron said. “What we want is to continue to work together on a more sovereign European energy strategy.”
Nord Stream 2 AG plans to complete major construction work on one of two branches of the controversial Russian gas link in the first half of 2021, despite U.S. sanctions that have threatened its completion for over a year.