24 June 2021, Thursday, 19:09 207

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Backs Bill On Sanctions On Nord Stream 2 In Case Of Violations

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

The U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee has approved a bill that provides for the imposition of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if violations are uncovered.

The Naftogaz of Ukraine national energy company announced this in a statement, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"These American legislative initiatives are important to Ukraine in several respects. First, they show that the position of Congress on Nord Stream 2 has not changed: the Russian pipe is viewed as a threat. Second, senators from both the Democratic and Republican camps promoted the amendment against Nord Stream 2. I want to personally thank Senators Ben Cardin, Robert Menendez, James Risch, Jeanne Shaheen, Ted Cruz, and John Barrasso. Finally, this legislation can become a real tool for countering dirty money in this Russian geopolitical project," the company’s Board Chairman Yurii Vitrenko is quoted as saying.

According to the statement, the bill requires the U.S. Secretary of State, in agreement with the U.S. Treasury Secretary, to assess the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will on an ongoing basis and submit reports on corruption schemes and foreigners involved in corrupt practices with the aim of potential imposition sanctions.

Sanctions could be imposed on the companies involved in the planning, construction, or operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if violations are uncovered, the statement said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Vitrenko has stated that even if the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is launched and gas transit through Ukraine stops, Ukraine will receive payment under a previously concluded contract with Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that only the United States is capable of stopping the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Ukraine and Russia signed in December 2019 a five-year contract for transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine from 2020.

Under the new five-year gas transit contract, which can be extended after 2024, Ukraine and Russia agreed that the gas transit volume would be 65 billion cubic meters of gas in 2020 and 40 billion cubic meters per year from 2021 to 2024.

The volume of gas transit through Ukraine’s gas transmission system to Europe reduced by 38% to 55.8 billion cubic meters in 2020, compared with 2019.

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