Germany's Merkel says pipeline deal with US good for Ukraine

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended a deal with the U.S. to allow the completion of a Russian gas pipeline to Europe without the imposition of further American sanctions

BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that a compromise deal that will allow the completion of a Russian gas pipeline to Europe without the imposition of further U.S. sanctions is “good for Ukraine.” The United States and Germany announced the deal on Wednesday. The two countries committed to countering any Russian attempt to use the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a political weapon. They also agreed to support Ukraine and Poland, both of which are bypassed by the project and fear Russia’s intentions, by funding alternative energy and development projects. The Nord Stream 2 project has posed a major foreign policy dilemma for the Biden administration. U.S. officials from both parties have long feared it would give Russia too much power over European gas supplies. But the pipeline is almost completed, and the U.S. has been determined to rebuild ties with Germany that were damaged during the Trump administration.