State Department spokesman Ned Price has said the US has suspended sanctions on Nord Stream 2 because they have proved completely useless
“US President Joe Biden made it clear in a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that we continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, see it as a geopolitical project of the Kremlin aimed at expanding Russian influence over European energy resources to bypass Ukraine”, – he said. – “This is a bad deal for Germany, Ukraine and Europe as a whole”.
“The pipeline was more than 90% complete when the administration took office in January. Yes, we are still opposed to the pipeline and in May we imposed sanctions on 19 companies and ships connected to the pipeline”, – he said. – “It’s worth mentioning that in total we have imposed sanctions against 19 entities as opposed to the two entities included in the sanctions by the last administration. Meanwhile, we recognise that sanctions could hardly have prevented the construction of the pipeline. That is why US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken approved the suspension [of sanctions] as part of President Biden’s commitment to restore relations with our European allies.”
The State Department also confirmed it would submit a new report on Nord Stream 2 to Congress in August.