May 21, 2021

USA: Joe Biden Waived The Bipartisan Sanctions On Russian-Owned Company In Charge Of The Nord Stream 2 Pipeline AFTER Russian Hackers Shutdown US Colonial Pipeline And Paid $5 Million Ransom.

BlazeTV published May 21, 2021: Sen. Ted Cruz just exposed the Biden administration in a BIG way and the mainstream media won't ever cover it! WATCH Psaki get NASTY when reporter HAMMERS her with tough questions.
Joe Biden signed executive order his first day in office that shutdown the Keystone XL pipeline destroying 11,000 American jobs instantly. Then Joe Biden did nothing when Russian hackers shutdown US Colonial pipeline that caused gas shortages in 18 states. Joe Biden allowed US Colonial Pipeline to pay $5 million ransom to Russian Hackers named Darkside. Commie funded Joe Biden and the Commie funded Democrats tell us they hate oil industry because of "Climate Change". But really they only hate American oil pipelines that create American jobs, make America energy independent, and help our US economy. Commie funded Biden and the Commie funded Democrats hate Trump's America First platform because they are helping the globalist Communist make America LAST or no longer existing. That's why all of the BLM Antifa and supporters keep shouting TEAR IT DOWN or BURN IT DOWN. They are out to literally, not figuratively, destroy Capitalist free America. (emphasis mine)
Breitbart News
written by Charlie Spiering
Tuesday May 18, 2021

President Joe Biden will waive some American economic sanctions on Russia in order to streamline construction on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany, according to Axios.

Citing “two sources briefed on the decision,” Axios reporter Jonathan Swan reports the State Department will include the Nord Stream 2 pipeline Russian company and CEO on its list of Russians who deserve sanctions, but the Biden administration will waive them, citing American interests.

The Biden administration plans to scrap the sanctions on the Russian company responsible for the pipeline, despite initial signals that they would not.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told senators he is “determined to do whatever we can to prevent that completion” of the pipeline.

The national defense bill signed by Trump in 2019 included legislation to level sanctions on companies laying pipe for the project.

Several Republican Senators, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), continue opposing the pipeline’s construction, as it would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a major economic victory in the region and make Germany dependent on Russian oil from a pipeline running through Ukraine.

Waiving sanctions to give Putin a geopolitical victory would significantly damage Biden’s attempt to signal a “tough” approach on Russia.

Cruz voiced his opposition to Biden’s planned waiver on social media on Tuesday.

“Stunning. In defiance of U.S. law, Biden is actively helping Putin build his pipeline,” he wrote. “Objectively speaking, the Biden administration is shaping up to be the most pro-Russia administration of the modern era.”

Former President Trump expressed his distaste for the pipeline during his presidency, even though it was a priority for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“We’re protecting Germany, we’re protecting France, we’re protecting all of these countries and then numerous of the countries go out and make a pipeline deal with Russia where they’re paying billions of dollars into the coffers of Russia,” Trump said in 2018.
Axios
written by Jonathan Swan
Tuesday May 18, 2021

The Biden administration will waive sanctions on the corporate entity and CEO overseeing the construction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline into Germany, according to two sources briefed on the decision.

Why it matters: The decision indicates the Biden administration is not willing to compromise its relationship with Germany over this pipeline, and it underscores the difficulties President Biden faces in matching actions to rhetoric on a tougher approach to Russia.

Driving the news: The State Department will imminently send its mandatory 90-day report to Congress listing entities involved in Nord Stream 2 that deserve sanctions. Sources familiar with the drafting of the report tell Axios the State Department plans to call for sanctions against a handful of Russian ships. 
  • The State Department will also acknowledge that the corporate entity in charge of the project (Nord Stream 2 AG) and its CEO (Putin crony and former East German intelligence officer Matthias Warnig) are engaged in sanctionable activities.
  • However, the State Department will waive the applications of those sanctions, citing U.S. national interests.
  • This planned move seems at odds with Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement, made during his confirmation hearing: "I am determined to do whatever we can to prevent that completion" of Nord Stream 2.
Between the lines: This planned move also sets up a bizarre situation in which the Biden administration will be sanctioning ships involved in the building of Nord Stream 2 but refusing to sanction the actual company in charge of the project.
  • Sources close to the situation say that top Biden officials have determined that the only way to potentially stop the project — which is 95% complete — is to sanction the German end users of the gas.
  • And the Biden administration is not willing to rupture its relationship with Germany over Nord Stream 2.
The big picture: As Axios has previously reported, the completion of Nord Stream 2 would be a huge geopolitical win for Putin and give him substantial new leverage in Europe.
  • Russian gas currently has to pass through Ukraine on its way to Europe. Bypassing Ukraine with a direct pipeline to Germany is an opportunity for Russia to advance its goal of isolating its former client state, now a fledgling democracy, from Western Europe.
  • Russia has a long track record of cutting critical supplies to its neighbors during disputes, including cutting off gas to Ukraine.
  • The pipeline could be finished by the summer without a major intervention to stop it.
A State Department spokesperson told Axios the Biden administration had made clear that companies participating in Nord Stream 2 could face sanctions and would "continue to underscore U.S. strong, bipartisan opposition to this Russian malign influence project."
  • "The Biden administration has been clear that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a Russian geopolitical project that threatens European energy security and that of Ukraine and eastern flank NATO allies and partners," the spokesperson said.
  • The State Department spokesperson would not confirm the waivers or any details about the imminent report.
Administration sources contend any waivers applied to sanctions could be removed at any time.
  • They also argue the act of sanctioning and then waiving an entity establishes leverage over it, given the company would know that at any moment, the U.S. could reinstate the sanction.
  • They also add that the Biden administration's goal remains to see that the pipeline doesn't go into use.
Bloomberg News
written by Anthony Halpin
Wednesday May 19, 2021

An Arctic Council meeting seems an appropriate venue to judge whether Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin can reinvigorate U.S.-Russia relations that have been in a deep freeze for years.

There’s a lot at stake when Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet tonight in Iceland where they are expected to hammer out the terms for a summit between their leaders, possibly next month.

As vice president, Biden famously called for a reset with Russia. Twelve years later, Blinken wants to test “whether we can achieve a relationship with Moscow that is more stable and predictable,” according to the State Department.

After emphasizing human rights in foreign policy, Blinken is meeting Lavrov amid the harshest Kremlin crackdown on opposition activists in years. That’s a potential point of friction alongside persistent disputes over alleged meddling in U.S. elections, and hacking attacks.

Lavrov, in the post since 2004, isn’t shy about blaming the U.S. for arguably the worst ties since the Cold War across issues from Afghanistan and the Iran nuclear deal to the conflict in Ukraine and strategic arms control.

Still, both sides want a summit, if for different reasons and even though major breakthroughs from a meeting would be unlikely.

The Biden administration wants to concentrate on the challenge from China. But Putin’s gambit in sending tens of thousands of troops to the border with Ukraine got the U.S. president’s attention and prompted the invitation to meet.

For Putin, the handshake with a man who has called him a “killer” will demonstrate he remains a leader to be reckoned with. For Biden, the chance to ease tensions will mean he can focus on this century’s real superpower contest. — Tony Halpin

UPDATE 5/23/21 at 4:30pm: Added info below.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 1:19 PM

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