A new political row has broken out over Nord Stream 2 after Angela Merkel’s government was accused of offering to spend US$1 billion (£720 million) on American gas if the US called off planned sanctions against the project, according to reports from The Telegraph.
Lobbying group Environmental Action Germany (DUH) this week published a leaked letter from Olaf Scholz, the German Finance Minister, to Steve Mnuchin, the then US treasury secretary, dated last August.
In it, Mr Scholz offered to invest US$1 billion on new infrastructure to import American LNG at German ports if the US dropped the planned sanctions.
DUH described the letter as a “scandal” and “dirty deal”, accusing Mr Scholz of encouraging the import of LNG obtained by fracking.