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Washington (AP) - The US government has asked companies to withdraw from the construction of the German-Russian Baltic Sea gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 and threatened with new sanctions.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the warning on Thursday that "any company involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks US sanctions and should immediately cease work on the pipeline".
Follow the efforts to complete the project and evaluate information about companies "that appear to be involved".
From the ranks of the Republicans in the US Congress, the pressure had previously grown on the government of the Democratic US President Joe Biden to impose new sanctions.
Nord Stream 2 was "a bad deal - for Germany, for Ukraine and for our Central and Eastern European partners," said Blinken's message.
"As several US governments have made clear, this pipeline is a Russian geopolitical project that is intended to divide Europe and weaken European energy security."
Blinken emphasized that the Biden administration would implement the sanctions laws against Nord Stream 2 passed by the US Congress with bipartisan majorities.
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So far, the US has only imposed sanctions on the Russian company KVT-RUS, which operates the Fortuna laying ship, because of Nord Stream 2 - the government of the Republican US President Donald Trump announced these punitive measures shortly before the end of her term in January.
In a report published last month by the US State Department under Blinken, contrary to expectations, no other companies were punished or threatened with punitive measures.
Republican Senators Ted Cruz and James Risch last week called on Blinken to immediately impose sanctions on companies that are involved in Nord Stream 2.
Cruz - who is one of Nord Stream 2's fiercest opponents - had also announced that he would not approve Biden's candidates for important government posts in the Senate.
Cruz announced on Thursday that after blinking the "warning" he would give his approval to two of the candidates, including William Burns, whom Biden has nominated as head of the CIA's foreign intelligence service.
Until further sanctions are imposed, he will not give his support to Biden's candidate for vice foreign ministerial post, Wendy Sherman, and future nominations for posts in the State Department.
Cruz said, "Companies working on Nord Stream 2 today now know that they will face devastating penalties if they don't stop working immediately."
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The US is up against the project because they fear that their partners in Europe are too dependent on Russia.
US critics argue that the US wants to sell its own gas in Europe.
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