Germany ‘offered US$1 billion if US dropped sanctions against controversial pipeline’: 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.

Image: Connecting pipe sections above water

Two overlapping pipe ends of a pipe string have to be raised and cut on a pipelay ship before they can be welded together. © Nord Stream 2 / Axel Schmidt