US Is Preparing New Sanctions against Nord Stream 2

The next sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline may be a victory for the Ukrainian lobbyists, who have been trying for four years to achieve the introduction of penalties, The Wall Street Journal wrote. Members of the US Congress have agreed on new sanctions aimed at "bury" the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, The Wall Street Journal wrote on Sunday, November 29. According to the newspaper, the next penalty measures may "become a victory" for two Ukrainian lobbyists. As the WSJ informed, Vadim Glamazdin, a representative of the Ukrainian company Naftogaz, and an employee of the National Security Council of Ukraine, Alexander Kharchenko, spent four years trying to convince the Trump administration of the need for sanctions. Ukrainians lobbying and Senator Ted Cruz support led to the fact that due to restrictive measures, the construction of Nord Stream 2 stopped last year. About 76 km of the project is missing. Sanctions will prevent the re-equipment of "Akademik Chersky" ship To complete the gas pipeline, the Akademik Chersky pipe-laying vessel must be re-equipped to handle larger pipes. According to the WSJ, the new sanctions will target companies engaged in refurbishment, as well as enterprises insuring, inspecting and certifying Nord Stream 2. “Now Ukrainians feel that they are two steps away from success,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. The new sanctions "will be the final nail in the coffin of this project," Vadim Glamazdin said. According to him, after the entry of restrictive measures into force, there will be "no practical way" to complete the construction of the gas pipeline. "Nord Stream - 2" laying was to be resumed in December On November 28, a representative of Nord Stream 2 AG announced that work on laying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would resume in early December. The company noted that it is about laying a 2.6 km section on each of the gas pipeline strings. At the moment, the gas pipeline has been completed by more than 90 percent, 16 kilometers of the last section that remains to be laid is located within the exclusive economic zone of Germany, and the rest - in the waters of Denmark. It was assumed that Nord Stream 2 will be commissioned by the end of 2019. However, already in the summer of the same year, it became finally clear that Gazprom was out of schedule and would not be able to fulfill its targets, and in December 2019 the project completely stopped. The Swiss company Allseas refused to lay pipes for Nord Stream 2 and withdrew its vessels from the Baltic Sea due to US sanctions threat.