Biden Admin. To Waive Sanctions On Entity, CEO Managing Nord Stream 2 - Reports

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2021) The Biden administration will waive sanctions against the corporate entity and top executive managing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Axios reported on Tuesday.

The State Department, in its Nord Stream 2 sanctions list prepared for Congress, will waive those sanctions proposed against the Nord Stream 2 AG and its CEO, Matthias Warnig, using US national interests as justification, the publication reported, citing two sources briefed on the decision.

Those familiar with the report added that it calls for sanctions against several Russian ships involved in the pipeline project. Entities included on this list, however, have yet to be officially sanctioned.

The list is part of a report that the State Department must submit to Congress identifying targets for sanctions, as required under the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act. Administration officials also clarified that even if the proposed sanctions are waived at the present moment, those waivers are liable to be revoked at any time.

This decision comes in the late stages of the pipeline's construction, with 95 percent of the project already completed. Without a major intervention such as the sanctioning of those involved with the pipeline's construction or the German end-users of the gas, the Nord Stream 2 project could be completed as soon as this summer