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Waiver of sanctions against Nord Stream 2 operator meets US interests, says Blinken

According to media reports, the US Department of State included vessels Academic Chersky, Vladislav Strizhov, Baltic Reseracher and Yuri Topchev in the list of ships the activities of which fall under American restrictions

WASHINGTON, May 20. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed that it is in American national interests not to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 operator, Nord Stream 2 AG.

"The Department of State submitted a report to Congress pursuant to the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act (PEESA), as amended, listing four vessels, five entities, and one individual involved in construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, including Nord Stream 2 AG and the company’s CEO Matthias Warnig. Persons identified in the report are subject to sanctions pursuant to PEESA unless waived," the US Secretary of State said in a statement released on Wednesday.

"As a result of such sanctions on the entities listed in the PEESA report, the four vessels listed in the report and nine additional vessels owned or controlled by the Federal State Budgetary Institution Marine Rescue Service that are involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline’s construction, will also be subject to sanctions," Blinken said.

"Furthermore, I have determined that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, its CEO Matthias Warnig, and Nord Stream 2 AG’s corporate officers," he added.

According to media reports, the US Department of State included vessels Academic Chersky, Vladislav Strizhov, Baltic Reseracher and Yuri Topchev in the list of ships the activities of which fall under American restrictions. A similar list of legal entities includes entities Koksokhimtrans, Mortransservice, the Marine Rescue Service, and the Samara Heat and Power Property Fund.

The Nord Stream 2 project implies the construction of two lines of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The work was suspended in December 2019 after the Swiss Allseas Group abandoned pipe-laying due to possible US sanctions. In December 2020, the construction of the gas pipeline resumed after a year's pause. By now, Nord Stream 2 is 95% completed.

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