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US-RUSSIA-GERMANY-EUROPE-POLITICS-ECONOMY-ENERGY
Trump approves Russia-Europe gas pipeline sanctions
WASHINGTON, Dec 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump on Friday
signed off on US sanctions against companies building a Russian natural gas
pipeline to Germany that Congress fears will give the Kremlin dangerous
leverage over European allies.
The sanctions, which are opposed by the European Union, were included in a
sprawling defense spending bill Trump signed at a ceremony on Joint Base
Andrews, an air force installation outside Washington, DC.
They target companies building the nearly $11 billion Nord Stream 2
pipeline under the Baltic Sea with the aim of doubling deliveries of Russian
natural gas to Europe’s leading economy, Germany.
US lawmakers have warned the pipeline would enrich a hostile Russian
government and vastly increase President Vladimir Putin’s influence in Europe
at a time of heightened tension across the continent.
Both houses of Congress overwhelmingly approved the sanctions, with the
Senate voting Tuesday to send the measure to Trump’s desk.
Trump, who has been accused by Democratic opponents of being soft on
Putin, had little choice but to give his approval.
The sanctions were inserted into a much wider $738 billion annual Pentagon
funding bill and, given the level of congressional support, a veto would
likely have been overturned.
The US measures have angered Moscow and the European Union, which says it
should be able to decide its own energy policies.
Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, discussed the issue during a phone
call Friday with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, State Department
spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. Pompeo expressed “strong opposition” to the
project, Ortagus said in a statement.
The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce insisted last week that the
pipeline was important for energy security and urged retaliatory sanctions
against the United States if the bill passes.
The US sanctions target pipe-laying vessels for Nord Stream 2 and
TurkStream, a Russia-Turkey pipeline, and include asset freezes and
revocation of US visas for the contractors.
One major contractor that could be hit is Swiss-based Allseas, which has
been hired by Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom to build the offshore
section. The power of Gazprom, which is closely integrated with the Russian
state, is at the center of concerns about the pipeline in the United States,
and also in eastern and central European countries.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican ally of Trump, said that halting Nord
Stream 2 should be a major security priority for the United States and Europe
alike.
“It’s far better for Europe to be relying on energy from the United States
than to be fueling Putin and Russia and dependent on Russia and subject to
economic blackmail,” he told the Senate last week.
However, Senator Rand Paul, another Republican, voted against the bill,
objecting to its bid to “sanction NATO allies and potentially American energy
companies.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/1036 hrs