U.S. President Biden waives Nord Stream 2 pipeline sanctions

Biden, who is preparing for his first visit to Europe and his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month, told reporters he had opposed the new pipeline since its inception, but held off on sanctions because it was "almost completely finished" by the time he took office in January.

Asked why he was letting Germany and Russia complete the project, Biden said, "Because it’s almost completely finished, number one … and it’s not like I can allow Germany to do something or not ... To go ahead and impose sanctions now would, I think, be counter-productive in terms of our European relations."

Biden, keen to build a united front against both Russia and China, has moved quickly to repair ties with Germany and other key European allies that were badly frayed during the administration of former President Donald Trump.

The State Department last week said Nord Stream 2 AG - the German company behind the Russian gas pipeline to Germany - and its CEO, Matthias Warnig, an ally of Putin, engaged in sanctionable activity, but waived those sanctions for what it called national security reasons.

Biden said the Germans were aware of his concerns.

"They know how strongly I feel and I hope we can work on how they handle it from this point on," he said as he left Washington for a quick trip to Delaware.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday said she expects further discussions with the United States on the Nord Stream 2 project after the sanctions waiver.

Gazprom and its Western partners are racing to finish the pipeline to send natural gas under the Baltic Sea. The project, now about 95% complete, would bypass Ukraine, depriving it of lucrative transit fees and potentially undermining its struggle against Russian aggression.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will sit down for talks in in Geneva on June 16, amid sharp disputes over election interference, cyberattacks, human rights and Ukraine.

Both countries have lowered expectations for breakthroughs at the summit, with neither in a mood to make concessions on their many disagreements.

The White House has avoided describing Biden as seeking a "reset" in relations with Putin, a term often used by former U.S. presidents as they sought to improve relations with Russia.

Rather, U.S. officials see the face-to-face meeting as an opportunity to tilt the relationship away from what they view as former President Donald Trump's fawning overtures to Putin.

"The president of the United States is not afraid to stand up to our adversaries and use a moment of in-person diplomacy to convey areas where he has concern and look for areas of opportunity to work together in areas where we have mutual agreement," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing.

Earlier, she said in a statement that the two would discuss "the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship."

The Kremlin said in a statement that the two leaders would discuss bilateral ties, problems related to strategic nuclear stability, and other issues including cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 and regional conflicts.