‘Sanctions just a hiccup’: Nord Stream 2 will be completed, & US knows it but cannot bear the thought – former US diplomat

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is going to be completed despite the latest US sanctions, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT, adding that the last-ditch attempt to derail its launch is a gesture of despair by Washington.

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, signed by US President Donald Trump into law on Friday, envisions harsh sanctions for the foreign contractors involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The bill gives the companies 30 days to wind down operations before they are put on a blacklist, their visas revoked and assets frozen. Allseas, a Swiss-Dutch company that has been laying deep-sea pipes for Nord Stream 2 off the coast of Denmark, already announced that it had suspended its work and would phase out its operations in face of the sanctions threat.

Jatras, however, believes that if anything this is no more than a minor setback, which will not affect the project on a major scale.

“Nord Stream 2 will be completed. I think that this latest round of sanctions and this cessation of workers is a hiccup. It will be finished and will go into operation,” he said.

The diplomat argued that the last-ditch attempt by the US to put a spanner in the works means that the Washington establishment “cannot admit that their policy is failed”. The behavior is similar to that of a spiteful person who would try to spoil the mood for everybody around if something does not go his way, he said.

We have only one reality – that is Russia is bad, and this thing that connects Russia to Europe is bad too. We must do whatever we can to stop it, and if we cannot stop it then just make life difficult for everyone.

Arguing that sanctions rarely turn out to be very effective, Jatras said that he hopes European countries will stand up to the US as it acts as a global policeman while turning a blind eye on the interests of its allies.

Is this a voice of a friend who is saying we want partnership with Europe, we want to have best relationship we can with Europe? Or is this a voice of a master, who dictates to other countries as though they were vassal states or satellites?

Jatras noted that the US is used to having its allies do what it wants, but each time more people in Europe, especially in the business community, show they are sick and tired of being treated like this. “I hope they’re waking up, smelling the coffee and seeing where their interest lies”, he concluded.

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