WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) – The United States on Friday announced new
sanctions against Russian individuals and entities over the alleged poisoning
of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
The Department of the Treasury said in a statement that it designated nine
Russian individuals and two Russian entities “involved in Navalny’s poisoning
or Russia’s chemical weapons program.” Many designated are members of Russia’s
Federal Security Service.
In addition, the Department of State designated two Russian Ministry of
Defense scientific laboratories that have engaged in activities to develop
Russia’s chemical weapons capabilities, according to the statement.
These sanctions came amid the first anniversary of the alleged poisoning of
Navalny.
The U.S. intelligence community assessed that Russia’s Federal Security
Service officers used a nerve agent known as Novichok to poison Navalny on
Aug. 20, 2020. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden in March this
year announced multiple sanctions and restrictions against Russian individuals
and entities over the issue.
Russia repeatedly denied such accusations, saying the Navalny case is a purely
domestic affair and foreign intervention is not allowed.
In a separate move, the Department of State said Friday it had submitted a
report to Congress pursuant to the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of
2019 (PEESA), as amended. The report lists one Russian vessel and two Russian
persons involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
“With today’s action, the Administration has now sanctioned 7 persons and
identified 16 of their vessels as blocked property pursuant to PEESA in
connection with Nord Stream 2,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The 1,230-km gas pipeline, expected to be completed soon, would bring 55
billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia to Germany through the Baltic
Sea.
The United States has long claimed that the Nord Stream 2 is a geopolitical
maneuver by Moscow that will undermine Ukraine’s role in transiting energy to
Europe and increase European dependence on Russian gas. Germany and Russia
insisted that the project is purely commercial.
Citing the importance of relations with Germany and the difficulty to stop the
nearly completed pipeline, the Biden administration in May waived sanctions
against a company behind the pipeline project and its German CEO, which led to
opposition from bipartisan lawmakers.
The United States and Germany reached a deal in July over the controversial
pipeline project. Berlin agreed to support Ukraine to strengthen its energy
sector and act against Russia if it weaponizes the energy. Enditem
