New US sanctions to impede Nord Stream 2
US is urging allies and companies to halt work on Russian pipeline.
Reuters reports that the US seeks to impede work on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline by imposing more stringent sanctions. The Trump administration is drafting a new set of congressionally mandated measures that it thinks will deal a fatal blow to the Russia-to-Germany project.
An official, on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: “We’ve been getting body blow on body blow to this, and now we’re in the process of driving a stake through the project heart.” US sanctions caused a one-year pause in the pipeline’s construction, but Russia resumed building the $11.6 billion project earlier this month.
Washington said the pipeline will increase European reliance on Russian gas and could compromise Europe’s energy security. The new work on the line has centered on a 1.6-mile stretch in shallow water in Germany’s Exclusive Economic Zone but has yet to reach deep-water sections in Danish territory.
