Senators: Biden Admin Must Impose Sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream II Pipeline

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) led a group of 40 senators in sending a letter criticizing the Biden administration for failing to follow the law and impose sanctions on entities involved in the Nord Stream II pipeline.

The Nord Stream II pipeline would carry natural gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. If completed, the pipeline would make American allies and partners in Europe more susceptible to Moscow's coercion and malign influence.

In their letter, the senators highlight how Congress has passed several pieces of bipartisan legislation imposing sanctions on this project. They request that the Biden administration utilize all of the tools at its disposal to implement additional sanctions immediately, especially the most recent round of sanctions that both houses of Congress urgently and repeatedly passed last year.

"We write to express our deep concern about the refusal of the administration to impose sanctions on entities involved in the Nord Stream II pipeline. With construction on the project currently taking place, there is publicly available information on vessels and companies engaging in sanctionable activities. The failure of the administration to identify and impose new sanctions signals its willingness to allow President Putin to gain a stranglehold over Europe's gas supplies and increase its geopolitical leverage. We call on the administration to correct its misguided actions by quickly and fully implementing the sanctions mandated by U.S. law," wrote the senators.

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