55 senators, including six Democrats, voted in favor of the bill proposed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz. 46 against them, including Republican Rand Paul. The draft stipulated imposing penalties on the gas pipeline operator within 15 days of the law’s adoption.
The vote was the result of an agreement between Cruz and Democrats that allowed the bill to be voted against End Cruz’s blockade of President Joe Biden’s appointments as ambassadors.
The failure of the project is the result of, among other things, pressure from the White House to persuade Democrats – who previously supported the overwhelming majority of sanctions – In order not to interfere in diplomatic attempts to resolve the crisis with Russia. The Biden administration has also argued that sanctions could undermine it Agreement with the German governmentwho vowed to stop NS2 in the event of Russian aggression. The Ukrainian authorities, in turn, lobbied for the adoption of the bill.
During the pre-voting discussion Cruz accused Democrats of voting against him only because the current president is Joe Biden, not Donald Trump. “If Russia invades Ukraine, it may be because the US Senate has heard and ignored the pleas of our Ukrainian allies,” he added. In turn, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Democrats, Bob Menendez, accused Cruz of cynicism and stated that the imposition of sanctions could be a pretext for Russia to launch an invasion.
On Wednesday, Menendez submitted his own draft sanctions – Including both NS2 and much broader restrictions against Russian energy and financial companies and cutting Russia off from the Swift system – which will be activated in the event of a Russian invasion. The project was approved by the White House.
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