US imposes new sanctions on Nord Stream 2 | News from Germany about Europe | Dw

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The United States intends to impose additional sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany. On Monday, November 22, the State Department announced in Washington that sanctions would be imposed on Transadria LtD, which is involved in the construction of the pipeline and is linked to Russia, and its Merlin vessel will be declared confiscated. Thus, in connection with Nord Stream 2, a total of eight legal or natural persons and 17 vessels belonging to them are currently subject to sanctions.

In favor of Ukraine’s energy security

As US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken emphasized, presenting to Congress a quarterly report based on the Protecting European Energy Security Act (PEESA), the introduction of new restrictive measures is in line with the position of the US Department of State opposing the construction of a gas pipeline through which gas will flow from Russia to Germany bypassing Ukraine. At the same time, according to him, cooperation with Germany and other allies will continue to reduce risks for Ukraine and Eastern European countries – NATO members. Opponents of the construction of Nord Stream 2 see it primarily as a Russian geopolitical project.

In July, the German government and the administration of US President Joe Biden announced a breakthrough in a decades-long conflict over a controversial project. They issued a joint statement in which they promised support to Ukraine. The United States has pledged not to hinder the construction of the pipeline anymore, but with guarantees for Ukraine. Therefore, at first, Washington refrained from imposing more radical sanctions, for example, against the project operator, a subsidiary of Gazprom registered in Switzerland.

Germany suspends gas pipeline certification

As a reminder, the construction of a 1234-kilometer gas pipeline from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea (2468 km along two lines) has been completed, and it is technically ready to pump Russian natural gas to Europe, but gas is not yet flowing through it. Last week, the German Federal Grid Agency suspended the necessary certification procedure for the gas pipeline pending the completion of the creation of a subsidiary of the Swiss Nord Stream 2 AG to operate the national section of the pipeline and transfer its main assets and human resources.

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