“We are deeply concerned that the administration’s harsh statements against the pipeline are not being followed by equally tough action,” five Republican lawmakers, including Michael Macaul, said in a letter to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Lawmakers expressed the view that the Baiden administration’s recent decision to impose sanctions only on the ship Fortunaused for pipe – laying and the shipowner KVT- RUS, already chosen for sanctions by the previous administration, is good evidence of this mismatch between words and deeds.
The letter states that by Nord Stream 2 Blinkens is called upon to submit new potential targets for sanctions to Congress as soon as the necessary information is available, and not to wait until May 17 for the next mandatory report to Congress.
“We think this would be in line with your administration’s rhetoric regarding the pipeline, including your comments (..) that the Baiden administration is ‘determined to do everything we can to prevent the project from being completed,'” the letter said.
The letter was signed by Macaul, Kevin McCarthy, Adam Kinzinger, Brian Fitzpatrick and August Pfluger.
The US and several European Union (EU) member states, including the Baltic states and Poland, have sharply criticized the construction of the pipeline, which increases Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas supplies and Moscow wants to use it as a political tool.
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