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Blinken: any operator involved in Nord Stream 2 is subject to sanctions
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
Every entity involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline exposes itself to US sanctions, said head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken in a Thursday statement.
"The Department of State reiterates its warning, every player involved in Nord Stream 2 exposes himself to US sanctions and should abandon work immediately on this gas pipeline", Blinken said. He assured that Joe Biden's administration was "obliging to comply" with the law passed by Congress providing sanctions for the pipeline. Blinken added that the State Department "assessed" the entities that according to reports assist in the construction of the pipeline.
Biden's government is criticized on the Capitol following a February report by the State Department and a decision that does not include sanctions by European companies involved in the pipeline from Russia to Germany. Officials defend themselves that they need more time to gather evidence of the involvement of these companies in construction and suggest that sanctions are a matter of time.
In early March, in the Nord Stream 2 issue, a spokesman for the State Department assured PAP that the ministry "continues to check entities involved in potentially sanctioned activities".
However, Republicans fear that Washington can take action too late to effectively prevent the completion of the gas pipeline. They are also concerned about media reports that Washington is ready to enter into a political agreement with Berlin to complete the pipeline, against which a group of Republican Party parliamentarians warned in a letter from the Secretary of State.
Senator Bob Menendez, the Democratic chief of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, also critically addressed this potential step. In his opinion, the will to repair relations with Germany, which were strained during the term of former President Donald Trump, should not result in a milder US policy towards the pipeline.
Republican parliamentarians, together with some Democrats, insist on the immediate introduction of additional sanctions on a dozen entities involved in construction, including ships and ports. In their view, the U.S. Congress equipped the administration with a suitable set of legal tools for such a step.
Source: PAP
