New Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Drawn Up

The United States is drawing up additional sanctions against participants in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. Restrictions will be imposed on insurance and technical certification companies that work with Russian vessels after completion of the project.

As Bloomberg reports with reference to three people familiar with the matter, House and Senate negotiators agreed to include additional economic restriction against the Russian pipeline in a defence bill that must pass by the end of the year.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview that members of Congress wanted “to make it clear that Germany, as an ally, and public officials within Germany, would not be part of any such sanctions.”

Bloomberg sources emphasise that the current sanctions will remain in place.

In October, the U.S. Department of State announced the expansion of sanctions against Nord Stream 2. Initially, the restrictions applied to pipe-laying vessels. The sanctions now apply to companies that assist in the modernisation or installation of equipment on such vessels, as well as those providing funding for the works.

The Kremlin compared such actions of the United States to raiding.

Bohdan Marusyak