Hopes have been rising that Germany and the US might finally be close to resolving their differences over Nord Stream 2, the pipeline bringing Russian gas to Europe. This week, Angela Merkel went out of her way to damp them down.
She said she would discuss the issue with Joe Biden on her visit to the US on Thursday — likely to be her last as Germany’s chancellor, after 16 years at the helm — but did not know whether they would actually reach agreement. “I think rather not,” she told reporters.
US-German relations have enjoyed a rapid thaw after the deep freeze of Donald Trump’s presidency. Since entering the White House, Biden has stopped Trump’s planned withdrawal of 12,000 US troops from German soil, waived sanctions against NS2 and dialled back on trade disputes that were a huge irritant between Washington and Berlin.