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US Senators Warn Nord Stream 2 Contractor of Imminent 'Crushing' Sanctions

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson in a letter to Allseas Group S.A., a company installing deep-sea pipes for Russia's Nord Stream 2, urged it to stop its activities on the project immediately and warned of "crushing" sanctions under the 2020 National Defence Authorization Act if it fails to comply.
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"This letter is to put you, your employees, your company, and your shareholders on formal legal notice. This legislation was passed specifically to immediately halt your company's work on Nord Stream 2. The only responsible course of action is for Allseas Group S.A. and its employees to stop Nord Stream 2 activities immediately", the letter said.

Earlier this week, the Senate voted in favor of the NDAA, which in an amendment sponsored by Cruz calls for mandatory sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream. Cruz and Johnson warned Allseas that sanctions against it would be implemented as soon as US President Donald Trump signs the legislation into law.

"We understand that Russia is paying Allseas a very substantial amount of money to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. However, the consequences of your company continuing to do the work-for even a single day after the President signs the sanctions legislation-would expose your company to crushing and potentially fatal legal and economic sanctions", the senators wrote.

Allseas Group S.A. is a Swiss-based contractor in offshore pipeline installation, heavy lift and subsea construction. According to its website, it employs over 4,000 people worldwide and operates a fleet of specialized heavy-lift, pipelay and support vessels, designed and developed in-house. Allseas has executed more than 300 projects and installed over 23,500 kilometers of subsea pipeline.

Pundits Point to Reasons Behind US Militarization of Civil Nord Stream 2, Warn of Impact for EU
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a press conference after meeting with Trump that US sanctions would not hinder the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said Berlin strongly opposes the US sanctions and intends to "decisively" discuss them with Washington.

The Nord Stream 2 project is a joint venture between Russia's Gazprom and five European companies — France's ENGIE, Austria's OMV, the UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. The 745-mile-long twin pipeline will carry nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany, passing through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden.

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