Senators Threaten Sanctions Against German Port for Supporting Nord Stream 2
Three Republican senators threatened U.S. sanctions against a German port for helping to build Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline (see 2007150021), urging the port to stop providing “goods, services and support” for the project.” In an Aug. 5 letter to Fahrhafen Sassnitz GmbH, operator of Mukran Port, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said the port should immediately stop supporting the Russian-flagged vessels Fortuna and Akademik Cherskiy.
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“Your provisioning of the Fortuna or Akademik Cherskiy will certainly have become sanctionable the instant that either vessel dips a pipe into the water to construct the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,” the senators said. The pipeline is “near completion” and presents a “grave threat” to U.S. and European security, they said. “The administration and Congress, and both parties, are united in their commitment to ensure that the pipeline remains uncompleted and those threats are never realized,” the letter said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the letter and expressed his “surprise and displeasure,” broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported Aug. 10. A spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country is opposed to “extraterritorial sanctions,” the report said.