The United States has imposed several rounds of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 project in recent years, Sputnik News reports. However, Germany and Austria have rejected calls to abandon the project despite the U.S. pressure.
The U.S. Department of State is not proposing new sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in a report for Congress, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The report mentions the pipe-laying vessel of Fortuna and its owner KVT-RUS, but both are already targeted with the U.S. restrictions, the Bloomberg news agency reported. The report is also not envisaging any sanctions against German and other EU companies involved in the project.
The Nord Stream 2 project entails the building of a 745-mile-long twin pipeline that will carry up to 2 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany, passing through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Germany.
Washington has strongly opposed the project, as it seeks to export more liquefied natural gas to Europe. The pipeline building was suspended a year ago after the U.S.-imposed sanctions led to the withdrawal of Swiss pipe-laying company Allseas from the project. However, the construction resumed in December 2020 and is expected to be completed soon.
The calls for additional sanctions against Moscow came after the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny over a financial misdemeanor. In particular, Washington found it a sufficient ground to sanction ship Fortuna, which was laying Nord Stream 2 pipeline, while the European Parliament issued a resolution calling for the Nord Stream 2 suspension in late January.
