U.S. (Washington Insider Magazine) -Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Aug. 10 appointed Amos Hochstein to the position of senior advisor on energy issues. His biggest hurdle going forward is to implement the Germany-U.S. Nord Stream 2 (NS2) deal, which has been widely criticized by Eastern European allies and many on Capitol Hill.
In a State Deparment news release, Blinken stated that, “his immediate focus will be the implementation of measures to reduce the risks posed by the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.” Germany in similar fashion, is moving forward with its own special envoy appointment in an attempt to negotiate a 10-year extension of the current Russian-Ukrainian transit deal, set to expire in 2024.
As a vital gas transit country to Europe, Ukraine fears it will be left more vulnerable to ongoing Russian aggression once NS2 is completed later this year.
Hochstein, who many in Eastern Europe consider to be “Biden’s guy,” was a former special envoy for international energy affairs during the Obama-Biden administration and retired from his role as a supervisory board member of Ukrainian state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz in October 2020. Most importantly, he has been a critic of the NS2 project and described as a Russian hawk, as reported by Axios.
Once operational, NS2 will pump natural gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and allow Russian state-owned Gazprom to circumvent Ukraine’s existing pipeline network.
The appointment can potentially be viewed as a sign that U.S. President Joe Biden has not simply given up on U.S. resistance to Nord Stream 2 and comes before the expected Aug. 22 visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Ukraine and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington, D.C on Aug 30.
A source with knowledge of the process told Axios that “it’s frankly good to have someone who is deeply suspicious of the project and of Russian intentions because he will push hard to execute an effective strategy to manage the threat.”
At the very least, Hochstein’s experience with Nord Stream 2 and his regional expertise will be beneficial in negotiations, but it is yet to be seen if the appointment will prove effective going forward or how it will affect U.S. relations with its allies involved.