US State Department Warns about Sanctions for Nord Stream 2 Project Participants

The Axios portal reported earlier in the day that the US administration planned to refrain from sanctions against Nord Stream 2 pipeline project operator, Nord Stream 2 AG, and its CEO Matthias Warnig.

"We continue to examine entities involved in potentially sanctionable activity and have made it clear that companies risk sanctions if they are involved in Nord Stream 2," the spokesperson told TASS. "We will continue to underscore US strong, bipartisan opposition to this Russian malign influence project."

"The Biden Administration has been clear that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a Russian geopolitical project that threatens European energy security and that of Ukraine and eastern flank NATO Allies and partners," the US diplomat 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.