Donald Trump signed the Penal Code on December 20, 2019. The question is whether Swedish companies are affected. SVT has asked the question to the US embassy in Stockholm.

“We cannot go into details about discussions with specific companies, but we can say that we are in talks. To clarify - companies can choose to continue working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but this legislation makes it clear that they must make a choice. If they choose to pursue sanctioned activities, they give up their access to the US economy. ”Spokesman Williams S. Martin writes to SVT News.

He continues:

“We prefer not to impose sanctions. The United States has worked closely with our European allies and partners to create consensus on the issue of energy security, with the understanding that new projects should promote European energy security, not counteract it. "

National security

Martin writes that the United States must act because it concerns national security and US foreign policy interests.

"But when Russia tries to use its dominant position in Europe's gas market to divide Europe politically, destabilize Ukraine, and discourage investment in projects that could bring real diversity in the energy field in countries that completely or almost entirely rely on Russia to fulfill their energy needs, the United States must act to respond to the threat to our national security and our foreign policy interests. "

Russia: Will be clear despite the threat

Russia, for its part, believes that the construction of the gas pipeline will be implemented, despite the threat of sanctions. It announced the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to the news agency Tass.

- Regardless of ongoing press, Nord Stream 2 will be closed. For clear-sighted Europeans, the benefits of creating a further gas export route are clear, the Russian Foreign Ministry writes.