Reuters KEN CEDENO
A group of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives called on the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to impose new sanctions targeting the “Northern Torrent 2” gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany.
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Five lawmakers led by the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s top Republican, Michael McCall, who represents Texas, sent a letter to Blinken on Monday, requesting clarifications on the decision not to impose sanctions on multiple institutions working to implement the “malicious Russian project.”
They said, “We are deeply concerned that the administration’s critical statements regarding the gas pipeline were not accompanied by measures that would be resolved with them.”
In the letter, the Republicans insisted that the State Department submit its next report on restrictive measures regarding the implementers of “Northern Torrent 2” as soon as possible and not in May as previously announced by the department.
The “Northern Torrent 2” project, worth 3 billion euros, includes laying two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia to Germany directly across the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The total length of the line is about 1,220 km, and it is supposed to be built parallel to the pipeline. Northern Torrent 1.
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In early December 2020, construction work on the “Northern Torrent 2” gas transportation line resumed in German waters after being suspended for about a year due to US sanctions, as it was included in the military budget to target ships working on the implementation of the project.
The United States and some European countries, especially Poland, do not look with satisfaction at this new gas pipeline, which will double the capacity of the “Northern Torrent 1” that is already in operation, considering that it will lead to Germany and the European Union dependence on Russian gas and thus on Moscow.
So far, about 90% of the construction work on the line has been completed by Russia’s own efforts. Previously, the US Treasury Department announced the inclusion of the Russian “Fortuna” ship, which participates in the implementation of the project, on a list of new sanctions.
Russia and Germany confirmed earlier that the US sanctions are illegal and contradict the principles of economic competition.
Source: Agencies
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