teleSUR – Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called on Biden’s administration to fasten the approval of new sanctions to halt the Russian-German Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline construction, which is 95 percent completed and worth over EU$16.5 billion.
“If Biden’s administration were to hesitate, if it were to defy the law, it would turn a major U.S. foreign policy victory into a major defeat, which will be a multibillion-dollar gift to Vladimir Putin,” Cruz said.
Republican and Democratic politicians have pointed out that the pipeline construction on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) territory is a threat to U.S. national security and Europe’s energy sovereignty.
Current U.S. legislation requires that every 90 days, the government submits to Congress a report listing the entities that may be sanctioned for their involvement in the project.
Republican lawmakers recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken where they listed over a dozen of entities, including offshore supply vessels and insurance and inspection companies.
This is a sensitive issue for Biden, who wants to strengthen relations with his European allies, especially Germany.
Besides enhancing diplomatic negotiations with the U.S. to avoid further interference, Germany has proposed trade agreements and increased investment in green energy in Europe and Ukraine as a bargaining chip to complete the pipeline construction as soon as possible.
