The US Treasury has set a deadline for completing all transactions with Nord Stream 2 operator Nord Stream 2 AG by March 2, 2022. This is stated in the statement of the department, published on Wednesday, February 23.
“The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury (OFAC) is issuing a general license for activities related to Russia, allowing to curtail transactions with Nord Stream 2 AG,” the document says.
Also in the statement is the name of the executive director of Nord Stream 2 AG Matthias Warnig as a person against whom it is planned to impose sanctions.
The Ministry of Finance obliged investors to complete transactions with Nord Stream 2 AG and companies under its management by 12:01 (07:01 Moscow time) on March 2, 2022. The US agency, announcing the sanctions, clarified that it was acting on the basis of the European Energy Security Protection Act of 2019.
Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on the operator of Nord Stream 2 and its management. He noted Germany’s leadership in developing measures to shut down the pipeline and called the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin a powerful incentive for countries to turn off Russian gas.
Also on February 23, the German reinsurance company Munich Re announced the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 contract. The decision was made public back in February 2021. Then Munich Re stopped insurance of SP-2 against the backdrop of the threat of sanctions.
The sanctions reaction of the West was caused by the signing by Russian President Vladimir Putin of decrees recognizing the independence of the LPR and DPR and treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. On February 22, the Russian leader signed federal laws on the ratification of friendship and cooperation treaties with the DPR and LPR.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the new Western sanctions against Russia illegitimate. The diplomat noted that Moscow has long understood that restrictions are the only tool of the West against the Russian Federation in order to restrain its development.
On February 22, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin regrets the suspension of the gas pipeline certification. According to him, this project has nothing to do with politics and is intended to become “a stabilizing element for the gas market in Europe.”
The construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was completed on September 10, 2021. It was built from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea for the purpose of direct gas supplies to Europe. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The Baltic States, Poland, the United States and Ukraine are opposed.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
