Forthcoming Russia sanctions won't include Nord Stream 2- POLITICO

Forthcoming Russia sanctions won’t include Nord Stream 2- POLITICO

(Read the full article on Politico.com)

Congressionally mandated sanctions against the major Russia-Germany gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 won’t be included in the Biden administration’s expected rollout of new penalties on Moscow over its SolarWinds espionage campaign and election interference efforts, POLITICO said.

The Justice Department gave legal sign-off last month to at least two sanctions packages targeting Nord Stream 2 AG, the company responsible for the planning, construction and subsequent operation of the pipeline, and its CEO Matthias Warnig. But that legal approval was reversed last week amid an ongoing internal debate over which entities meet the legal threshold for sanctions, according to three people familiar with the matter, the news organisation reported.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers have already inquired with the State Department about the reversal, which they only learned about through unofficial channels, POLITICO said, citing two people familiar with the conversations.

Lawmakers have argued that several pipe-laying vessels and entities, including Nord Stream 2 AG and its CEO, meet the legal threshold for sanctions under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019, known as PEESA, POLITICO said.

But another person familiar with the reversal said some administration officials felt the legal approval was granted prematurely, before the State Department was fully ready to implement the new penalties. Legal signoff is one of the final steps in the interagency process before sanctions are imposed, according to POLITICO.

Apr 15, 2021

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