US senator gets vote on Nord Stream 2 sanctions, in deal over envoy approvals
Republican US Senator Ted Cruz is set to get a vote next month on his bill to impose sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline in a deal reached with Democrats in which he accepted to lift holds on dozens of President Joe Biden's nominees for ambassador posts.
In the agreement struck early Saturday between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and Cruz, the Senate will vote before Jan. 14 on Cruz's bill to slap sanctions on the Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline.
The project is a vast network of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe, running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
The latest deal cleared the way for the Senate's approval of nearly three dozen ambassadors, including former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan.
Under the deal, Cruz's bill, which would place sanctions on the project under previous mandates, will need 60 votes to pass. That is an obstacle in the 50-50 Senate, where bipartisanship is scarce.
Democrats this fall had been rallying around a separate bill that would impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and Russian officials only if Russia invaded Ukraine, but that measure was dropped from annual defense policy legislation.
The Biden administration has so far identified 9 individuals and 18 entities to be subject to sanctions for their involvement in the $11-billion project, designed to double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream pipeline to 110 billion cubic meters per year.
The administration also argues the project would increase Russia's leverage over Europe. Moscow says the project is only commercial.
The project has been a focal point of tensions between Moscow and Washington. Russia says the project could provide relief to the European gas market, which has been grappling with tight supplies and soaring prices.
However, the United States is strongly against the project, claiming that the pipeline will increase Europe's reliance on Russian energy. Other European governments say the link is vital to secure Europe’s energy supplies, with gas prices surging in the continent in recent weeks.
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