Biden Reinstates Nord Stream 2 Sanctions After Blocking Them Previously

Joe Biden on Wednesday announced he will reimpose sanctions on the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. 

“I have directed my administration to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers,” Biden said in a statement. “These steps are another piece of our initial tranche of sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. As I have made clear, we will not hesitate to take further steps if Russia continues to escalate.” 

Biden added that Russia’s aggression has given the world “overwhelming incentive to move away from Russian gas.” 

In May, Secretary of State Antony Blinken waived the sanctions Trump originally placed on the pipeline, which goes from Russia to Germany. Biden then approved the $11 billion project in July after a meeting with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, per the Daily Caller.

The sanctions, which target Nord Stream 2 AG, the pipeline’s operator that is a subsidiary of Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, are the latest imposed by the Biden administration. 

As previously reported by Human Events News, Biden on Tuesday announced what he called the first “tranche” of sanctions against Russia. 

Biden announced the sanctions in a White House address, just one day after Putin recognized the independence of two Ukrainian separatist regions. 

Despite this, however, Putin sent troops there for what he called a “peacekeeping effort.” 

Biden called Putin’s actions a “flagrant violation of international law,” and said the United States will therefore be implementing “full blocking sanctions” on several of Russia’s financial institutions and members of its elite.

Biden said the “first tranche” of sanctions will impact Russia’s sovereign debt and that its government will be cut off from Western finances, meaning the nation will no longer be able to raise money or trade its debt in the U.S. or European markets.