US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in an interview with CNN that Washington will continue to impose sanctions against companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

“We think that this (the construction of the gas pipeline. -

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) is a bad idea, and it was important for us to be able to tell our close partner about it directly, Germany ... According to the (United States. -

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)

legislation

, we have imposed sanctions against companies who are involved in construction and are trying to complete the pipeline.

We made it clear that we will continue to do this (to impose sanctions. -

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), "the diplomat said.

He added that he conveyed to Berlin the position of Washington on the construction of the gas pipeline.

As the Secretary of State noted, the United States regards SP-2 as an instrument of “coercion” that Moscow uses in its foreign policy.

“For Russia, it represents an opportunity to use energy as a weapon and a means of coercion ... We just wanted to make sure that there was no double understanding of our position - to make sure that our friends and partners understood us.

It is very sad that the pipeline in one way or another is a source of disagreement, however, despite the differences (in opinions. -

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) on this issue, it cannot be denied that in all other areas we cooperate more closely than ever, "Blinken said.

As the American publication Politico reported in the first half of March, the Joe Biden administration found itself in an ambiguous situation.

On the one hand, the White House seeks to strengthen relations with Germany, on the other, it continues to demand that Berlin refuse to participate in Nord Stream 2.

According to experts, Blinken's statement revealed the ambiguity of the policy of the Biden administration, which expects to improve relations with European countries, including Germany, and at the same time calls on the allies to abandon the economic initiative that is beneficial to them.

“The plans of the Biden administration look rather contradictory.

Members of the US president's entourage are trying to present themselves as "anti-trumpists" in relations with the EU.

But in the case of Nord Stream 2, Biden, in fact, is repeating Trump's path, threatening European business with sanctions, "Alexander Kamkin, a leading researcher at the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with RT.

"There is very little left"

Last week, at a press conference in Brussels, Blinken said that he had already warned his German colleague Heiko Maas about the inevitability of imposing sanctions after the completion of the construction of Nord Stream 2, and any enterprise participating in this project could fall under restrictive measures.

From Washington's point of view, the implementation of Nord Stream 2 runs counter to Europe's stated goals of energy security and leaves room for "Russian manipulation."

Blinken called the construction of a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea "a bad idea" and said that Berlin should immediately stop work.

  • US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken

  • AFP

  • © Ken Cedeno

The American diplomat made similar demands on several occasions.

Meanwhile, Gazprom expects that the pipeline will be completed by the end of 2021.

As of the end of March, the pipeline is 90-92% ready. 

“The work is in full swing, there are very few left.

Of course, this year it will be completed, definitely.

It's a pity the lost time, but it turned out that way, ”Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, told reporters.

The German concern Uniper, which is the financial partner of Nord Stream 2, also hopes for the early launch of the gas pipeline, the construction of which was suspended in December 2019 due to the risk of US sanctions against the Swiss company Allseas, the owner of the pipe-laying vessel.

Since December last year, the anchor barge "Fortuna", previously under restriction from the United States, has been working in the Baltic Sea.

The ship laid a small section of the gas pipeline in the exclusive economic zone of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In early February 2021, the ship moved to Danish waters. 

In the near future, the Akademik Chersky pipelayer is to join the construction of the gas pipeline, which is currently undergoing running and pre-operational tests off the coast of Kaliningrad.

As a reminder, Nord Stream 2 is a two-line gas pipeline with a length of over 1.2 thousand kilometers each and a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters.

m per year.

The pipes run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of five countries: Russia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Germany.

In addition to Uniper, the project involves the French company Engie, Austrian OMV, British-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell and Germany's Wintershall.

In total, about 120 European enterprises are involved in the project.

Meanwhile, as of today, the United States has not yet named the legal entities that they intend to add to their blacklist upon completion of construction.

However, according to sources from Bloomberg, companies supplying ships and materials for the construction of a gas pipeline, as well as an insurance company working with pipelayers, may be subject to sanctions.

Experts predict that Washington is likely to approve a sanctions package against European enterprises that did not withdraw from the Nord Stream 2 deal.

As Politico notes, the Congress will not oppose the White House on this issue: the parliament is generally unanimous about the need to blockade Nord Stream 2.

The Biden administration is obliged every 90 days to submit to legislators a report containing a register of companies participating in the project, the newspaper reminds.

The legal entities listed in this document are the most likely candidates for being blacklisted by the United States.

The next report is due to be presented to Congress in May.

Some of the American parliamentarians have already expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the White House is delaying sanctions on Nord Stream 2.

For example, in early March, Michael McCall, a senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives, and four of his colleagues asked Blinken to explain why the presidential administration is still inactive.

  • Gas pipeline laying in the Baltic Sea

  • © gazprom.ru

In turn, Moscow notes that with sanctions threats Washington undermines the principles of free trade and is trying to prevent the implementation of a purely commercial project.

In the opinion of Maria Zakharova, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, by such behavior, the United States violates the principle of inadmissibility of politicizing the economy and energy.

“The State Department has admitted that the United States is undermining the basic principles of free trade and competition, subordinating the laws of the market to its own geopolitical interests, acting against the will of sovereign countries and against the interests of citizens of independent states,” Zakharova wrote earlier on her Facebook page.

"Sticks in the Wheels"

As the head of American diplomacy noted earlier, Washington is dissatisfied with the fact that Nord Stream 2 bypasses Ukraine and allegedly provides Moscow with additional levers of political influence over the European Union.

However, as noted by Reuters, Berlin insists on the need to put the highway into operation, hoping that a pragmatic approach to this energy project will prevail in the Biden administration.

According to Alexander Kamkin, Washington realizes that sanctions threats can hardly interfere with the implementation of Nord Stream 2 and the launch of gas supplies through it.

That is why the White House still does not have a clear plan of action, says the analyst.

“In this energy war, the stakes are quite high.

In my opinion, the Americans will impose restrictions on certain European and German companies.

However, the first package of measures will most likely be demonstrative.

The main question is whether the United States will go further - really serious sanctions will result in a sensitive blow to German business, ”Kamkin argues.

From his point of view, Washington also takes into account the fact that the Europeans will not keep themselves waiting and will respond with mirror measures.

Kamkin explains Washington's current indecision on the issue of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 with an attempt to “play on the nerves of the Europeans,” putting psychological pressure on the FRG and other union states.

“The pressure will continue.

But the main task now is to complete and launch the pipeline.

All members of the consortium and the German political class are focused on this.

And the Americans, of course, will stick to their wheels until the very end, ”Kamkin predicts.

In a RT commentary, American political scientist Malek Dudakov did not rule out that the White House expects to influence the new government of Germany, which will be formed based on the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Now Washington is still hoping to prove to Berlin that the gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea allegedly does not meet the interests of Germany, the analyst said.

“The Americans seem to be trying to 'help' the Germans figure out what they really need.

But the real motive behind the resistance to Nord Stream 2 by the United States is, of course, the fact that its launch is hitting the American gas industry, which has its own ambitious plans for the rich European market, ”concluded Dudakov.