A group of five U.S. Republican lawmakers led by Representative Michael McCaul sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 8 urging the Biden administration to act against Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The letter asks the Biden administration to implement sanctions under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act, legislation that came into force in January 2021 calling on Russia to “cease using its energy resources for coercive purposes.”
“We are deeply concerned that the administration’s strong statements in opposition to the pipeline are not being matched by equally strong actions,” the letter reads.
The official letter also inquires about the lack of sanctions against entities reportedly engaged in the project.
This move follows Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s decision to put a hold on March 5 on the final confirmation of President Joe Biden’s Central Intelligence Agency director nominee William Burns, according to Bloomberg.
Cruz asked the White House to apply recently authorized sanctions against companies building the pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
“I’ll release my hold when the Biden admin meets its legal obligation to report and sanction the ships and companies building Putin’s pipeline,” Cruz wrote on Twitter the same day.
Biden, who publicly called the pipeline a “bad deal for Europe,” has so far resisted imposing new sanctions on entities involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2, even though U.S. lawmakers argued it would be the most effective way to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Time is running out for the Biden administration, as the pipeline is 94 percent complete and proceeding quickly.
Around 120 kilometers of the pipeline remains to be laid in Danish waters as well as 30 kilometers in German waters according to Russia’s state-owned giant Gazprom, which is behind the project.
If completed, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would allow Russia to bypass Ukraine when transporting gas to European countries through Germany.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Nord Stream 2 “a bad project” too, not only for Ukraine but also Europe, during an interview with French outlet France24 on March 5.
The unfinished $11 billion construction project launched in 2015 has become one of the most hotly disputed issues between the United States and Germany since the U.S. started implementing sanctions against companies involved in its construction in December 2019.
The U.S. and several EU members argue that the project will increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. However, Germany supports the project, which could make it Europe’s main gas supplier.
Russia and Ukraine signed a five-year agreement through 2024 that guarantees Russia will transport no less than 40 billion cubic meters through Ukraine each year and must pay Ukraine at least $7.2 billion over the course of the contract.
However, if Nord Stream 2 is completed, it will double the amount of Russian natural gas exported to Germany to an annual 110 billion cubic meters and will allow Russia to bypass Ukraine entirely, depriving the country of at least $1.5 billion per year.
