Russia slams US sanctions on Nord Stream 2, TurkStream pipelines

Duvar English

Russia on Dec. 21 slammed new U.S. sanctions against the Nord Stream-2 and TurkStream pipelines, saying that a state with unprecedented debt, forbids others from developing their economies.

“A state with a national debt of $22 trillion forbids creditworthy countries from developing the real sector of their economies! The American ideology of life did not withstand global competition, which the U.S. Treasury regularly confirms by issuing a new ‘warrant for economic arrest’,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Facebook account, Sputnik reported.

The U.S. Treasury Department late on Dec. 20 issued an explanation, stating that U.S. sanctions against the Nord Stream-2 and TurkStream pipelines took effect immediately and that the U.S. was demanding construction companies to stop their work.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Dec. 20 the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Turkey and Syria along with a range of other measures.

The legislation calls for mandatory sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines, and bars military-to-military cooperation with Russia. The bill also sanctions Turkey over its acquisition of Russian S-400 air defense systems and prohibits the transfer of F-35 jets to Ankara.

The new set of U.S. sanctions will target companies and individuals involved in providing services on the pipeline and have their U.S. visas revoked and financial assets in the U.S. frozen. The bill also provides for a 30-day grace period for them to wind down their operations in the project.