US: Republican senator suspends CIA chief, calls for embargo on North Stream 2

The administration of US President Joe Biden has suspended the candidacy of Texas-based Republican Senator William Burns, the new CIA leader, to impose sanctions on the Russian-German North Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Cruise spokeswoman Jessica Scox commented, quoting Bloomberg, that Senator Cruz had publicly and privately stated that he would use all his legal possibilities to obtain Biden management to impose sanctions on the ships and companies that make up North Stream 2.

Cruise tweeted that he would withdraw his opposition to Burns’ appointment if the US government released a statement on the parties involved in the gas pipeline and announced sanctions against them. “Stop being soft on Russia,” Senator Biden appealed to the administration.

As Bloomberg points out, the appointment of Burns, a professional ambassador and former US ambassador to Russia, will not deter Cruz’s opposition, but will be delayed. His candidacy was unanimously supported by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

On March 3, 40 Republican senators signed a letter to President Biden calling on the democratic administration to “fully impose sanctions under US law and correct the mistakes.” According to them, the United States should impose sanctions on all companies involved in the construction of Nort Stream 2.

Failure to do so, according to the senators, “would indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to take control of the gas supply to Europe and increase his influence.”

The US State Department’s February report provoked outrage among Republican members of Congress. The ministry has not introduced new sanctions against participants in Nort Stream 2. Only Russian park Fortuna and its owner, KWD-Russ, which is laying a gas pipeline at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, are on the embargo list.

Republicans refer to the legal tools provided by PEESA, namely the European Energy Protection Act. In their opinion, the Biden management could at any time issue an interim report listing the names of the companies and imposing sanctions on them. “We are continuing to test the companies involved in the permitted activities on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline,” a U.S. State Department spokesman assured Thursday.

Earlier, President Biden described the Russian-German plan as unfavorable to Europe and its energy security.

Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic states and the United States strongly oppose the construction of a Russian-German gas pipeline. Critics of the Nort Stream 2 point out that the plan will increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and expand the Kremlin’s influence in European politics. The project is supported by Germany, Austria and several EU countries.