Washington is sticking to its resistance to the natural gas pipeline and is announcing further sanction targets. The criticism from Moscow is not long in coming.
The USA wants to impose further sanctions because of the controversial German-Russian natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2.
Transadria, which is involved in the pipeline and is related to Russia, and its ship “Merlin” are affected, the State Department announced on Monday in Washington. This means that eight people or facilities and 17 ships are now subject to sanctions. Russia criticized the sanctions on Tuesday as a violation of international law.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken stressed that the new penalties were in line with the US government’s opposition to the pipeline that would bring gas from Russia to Germany bypassing Ukraine. At the same time, cooperation with Germany and other allies will be continued in order to reduce the risk of the pipeline for Ukraine and eastern NATO countries. Critics see Nord Stream 2 primarily as a geopolitical project for Russia.
The US continued to try to make Russian-European energy cooperation more difficult by taking action against the finished pipeline, criticized Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov in Washington. “We regard all the pressure against Russian energy exports to Europe as unfair competition that violates the principles of the free market economy.”
Certification process suspended
In the year-long dispute over the project, the federal government and the government of US President Joe Biden announced a breakthrough in July. They issued a joint statement pledging support to Ukraine. The US government also admitted that it will no longer be able to prevent the pipeline and therefore initially refrained from more drastic sanctions – for example against the pipeline operating company registered in Switzerland.
The announcement of the latest sanctions was part of a report to the US Congress that the government is required by law to submit. Every three months she has to submit a progress report to Parliament on her efforts on Nord Stream 2.
However, no natural gas has yet flowed through the completed 1230-kilometer double line from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. Last week, the Federal Network Agency suspended a necessary certification process for the time being. The operator Nord Stream 2 AG is a subsidiary of the Russian gas company Gazprom.
Source From: Stern
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.
