BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2020) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas accused the United States on Thursday of neglecting Europe's sovereign sovereign right to make decisions on energy supplies, also noting that the threats of new restrictions on Nord Stream 2 hinder the effort toward elaborating a common Transatlantic stand on the Russia sanctions policy.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the US was updating its public guidance to add the Nord Stream 2 and the second line of the TurkStream into the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. This means investment and other activities related to Russia's gas pipelines are now at risk of US sanctions.
"Making this statement about the measures, under which European enterprises face a risk of sanctions, the US government neglects Europe's right and sovereignty to decide on its own where from and how it wants to receive energy. The European energy policy is formed in Europe, not in Washington. We reject extraterritorial sanctions," Maas said in a statement, distributed by the German Foreign Office.
Over the past few weeks, the German government has held multiple rounds of negotiations with the US government, awaiting the toughening of the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act, Maas recalled.
"We have clearly outlined our stand. We believe one should not protect oneself using sanctions in a circle of partners. We need a common Transatlantic approach to the sanctions against Russia. The US' new statement hinders this effort," Maas added.
