The United States neglects the right and sovereignty of Europe, threatening with sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project, Germany considers it necessary to develop a common approach to sanctions policy towards Russia, Washington’s actions complicate this, said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the State Department published recommendations under the law on countering Russia through sanctions, including in the document Nord Stream 2 and the second string of the Turkish Stream. These actions put investments and other actions related to Russian export pipelines at risk of US sanctions.
“By its statement on measures that also threaten European enterprises with sanctions, the US government is disregarding the right and sovereignty of Europe to independently decide how and where we get energy. European energy policy is shaped in Europe, not in Washington. We reject extraterritorial sanctions”, – Maas’s statement released by the Foreign Ministry says.
He added that the German government in recent weeks has held numerous negotiations with the US authorities in anticipation of tightening the European Energy Security Protection Act.
“In them, we clearly outlined our position. We consider it wrong to defend ourselves with sanctions among partners. What we need is a common transatlantic approach to sanctions against Russia. These efforts are complicated by today’s US statement”, – added Maas.