US President Trump has ratified sanction laws against the construction of the Russian Nord-Stream-2 oil and gas pipeline to Western Europe. The United States says it will impose fines and sanctions against companies and individuals who participate in that Russian energy export work.
The Dutch-Swiss company Allseas has since laid down the work on the oil pipeline. "Allseas expects guidelines on how to proceed from the relevant US authorities," the company said in a statement. Moscow already announced that the project would be ready within a few months, but this could delay the construction of the oil pipeline.
Via the Nord Stream 2, Russia can supply gas to Germany without having to deal with the territory of Poland and Finland. The pipeline runs straight through the Baltic Sea. The United States has been against the gas pipeline for years. The country is afraid that Russian president Vladimir Putin will gain more influence in Western Europe by supplying gas.
The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the American measures and urged Trump not to interfere with European energy policy. "They influence German and other European companies, and we see the movement as a concern for our internal affairs," said a German government spokeswoman.
The American sanctions also oppose the European Union. Brussels has already said it will take counter-measures if necessary. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also sworn 'mutual' measures against the sanctions.
Nord Stream-2 is also important for the Russians themselves. Until now, they have been exporting gas and oil to western Europe via pipelines that run through Belarus and Ukraine. After the Russians annexed the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine at the time, both countries are messed up. Ukraine can turn off the Russian gas taps, so that their gas cannot go to the EU countries.
The construction of Nord Stream-2 is therefore of enormous strategic importance for Gazprom and Putin: they are no longer co-dependent on Kiev. Just last week, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement on the supply of Russian gas to Europe via the current southern pipelines. An existing delivery contract expires at the end of December. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak says the new deal covers a five-year period.
According to insiders, Russia has offered to pay 3 billion dollars to Ukraine. Kiev, in turn, is terminating a lawsuit against Gazprom claiming $ 12 billion as compensation for infrastructure stolen in Crimea. That agreement is undoubtedly partly a result of the recent first official discussions between the two countries.
Gazprom currently supplies more than 36 percent of the total gas market in the European Union. Brussels was anxious that the legal battle between Kiev and Moscow would affect the gas supply and mediated the Russian-Ukrainian deal.