WASHINGTON, April 28. /TASS/. Washington and Berlin disagree in their approaches to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, but this does not affect relations between the two allies, a senior US administration official has said.

During a press call on national security and foreign policy in US President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, the official was asked on how the incumbent US administration acts when it disagrees with its allies on some issues, citing Nord Stream 2 as an example.

In response, the official said that having an alliance or a close partnership with another country does not mean that you agree on every issue, but you are "broadly, strategically aligned about the key challenges that you face."

"We’ve been quite clear, for example, with the German government that we think Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal. They have a different view of it, and we have taken steps, including some concrete steps, to underscore the degree to which we are committed to trying to get them to change their view of that pipeline," the official said.

"But fundamentally, our relationship with Germany, our relationship with our other key European and transatlantic partners, is in a cornerstone of our approach to the rest of the world, including to Russia," he added.

Washington openly opposes the Nord Stream 2 construction and is engaged in active efforts to halt the project to primarily deal a blow to Moscow’s interests and provide support to Ukraine as a country that is used to transit Russia’s natural gas to Europe. Moreover, many experts point out that the US is seeking to convince Europe to purchase its LNG which is much more expensive than the natural gas that Russia delivers via pipelines. In the past few years, the United States adopted a series of legislative acts that pave the way for unilateral sanctions, including on companies involved in the project.

The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two pipeline strings with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The pipeline’s construction was suspended at the end of 2019 when the Swiss pipe-laying company Allseas stopped work due to Washington’s sanctions. However, work resumed in December 2020 after a year-long pause. The new pipeline will double the capacity of the Nord Stream pipeline currently in operation, following largely the same route.