Many rushed to declare the harmlessness of the next report of the State Department on Nord Stream-2
This opinion was strengthened by the complacent atmosphere of the meeting between Blinken and Lavrov. Indeed, the meeting went better than one might expect. But I would not be in a hurry to rejoice at the report of the State Department. The United States nevertheless approaches the issue from a position of strength. The fact that it is not fully applied does not mean that it is not being used.
Recall that the State Department is to prepare a report on the Northern and Turkish Streams every 90 days. It should identify the ships that are involved in laying pipes at depths above 100 feet and above, the foreign entities that provide the ships, as well as their modernization services, insurance and certification services for the gas pipeline. This is enshrined in Article 1242 of the 2019 NDAA and Art. 7503 NDAA 2020. Blocking and visa sanctions may be imposed on individuals named in the report.
In the last report, the ship Fortuna and its owner, KBT, were mentioned. Then the Ministry of Finance added them to the list of blocked persons (SDN). The new report added the vessels “Akademik Chersky” (our second pipe-layer), as well as supply vessels “Yuri Topchev”, “Vladislav Strizhnov”, the research vessel “Baltic Researcher”, as well as four organizations: LLC “Koksokhimtrans”, LLC “Mostransservice” , “Marine Rescue Service” and “Samara Heat and Power Property Fund”.
In other words, the report cannot be called harmless, although new sanctions will not stop the project.
Optimists point to exceptions (Waivers) in relation to Nord Stream-2 itself and its head Matthias Warnig, as well as a number of other top managers. The reason for the exclusions is the preservation of close political relations with the EU countries that oppose sanctions. Such a partnership is also postulated in the interests of containing Russia. Formally, the Putin-Biden summit is not identified as the reason for the exclusions.
This exception can be lifted at any time. Including in any of the subsequent reports of the State Department, which he must prepare every 90 days. On the Russian side, nothing has been said about retaliatory measures to the State Department report and the upcoming US sanctions.
In the end, the Americans do not hesitate to combine a relatively constructive attitude and preparation for the summit with the targeted use of sanctions.
Ivan Timofeev