President Biden announced Wednesday the US would impose sanctions on the Russian-owned company behind the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline linking Russia …
President Biden announced Wednesday the US would impose sanctions on the Russian-owned company behind the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. In a statement, Biden described the sanctions as “another piece of our initial tranche of sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.” “As I have made clear, we will not hesitate to take further steps if Russia continues to escalate,” the president said. “Through his actions, [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin has provided the world with an overwhelming incentive to move away from Russian gas and to other forms of energy.” The sanctions on Switzerland-based Nord Stream 2 AG come nine months after the White House waived sanctions against the firm run by CEO Matthias Warnig, a former East German Stasi officer with close ties to Putin. When asked at the time about the move, Biden said he was allowing construction of the pipeline to proceed in part because “it’s almost completely finished.
