Sanctions against Nord Stream 2 Were Contributed to US Draft Defense Budget

US senators first drafted a law to expand sanctions and then introduced them into the draft defense budget. The sanctions should include not only the builders of the gas pipeline but also ports, lawyers and insurance companies. The Senate of the US Congress has included new sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the draft defense budget. On Tuesday, June 30, Senator Republican Steve Womack said on Twitter. “Putin wants to use the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as a coercive tool. He wants to plant a bomb under our allies in Ukraine and Poland and increase dependence on Russian gas. I am proud to have co-authored sanctions aimed at ending its construction and I applaud the Senate for including this priority in the national defense budget, "Womack wrote. The proposal to sanction the gas pipeline in the draft US defense budget for the fiscal year 2020/2021, which begins on October 1, was made by the same group of senators who prepared a bill to expand them. According to the new bill, sanctions apply not only to companies that are directly involved in laying the pipeline but also to those who provide them with insurance or legal assistance and port services. For the new sanctions to take effect, the bill must be approved in both houses of Congress, after which the document must be signed by US President Donald Trump. Construction of Nord Stream 2 got suspended due to US sanctions The construction of Nord Stream 2 is currently suspended due to U.S. sanctions on European contractors that entered into force in December 2019. They include a ban on entering the United States for representatives of these companies and the freezing of any assets in the country. Nord Stream 2 should be laid along the bottom of the Baltic Sea in parallel with the already existing Nord Stream. Countries through whose territorial waters the new gas pipeline passes (Finland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark) have allowed pipe laying. The USA and a number of European states oppose the construction of the gas pipeline. In their opinion, it will strengthen Europe’s dependence on Russian gas supplies.