An Associated Press reporter on Monday approached State Department spokesman Ned Price for suggesting that President Joe Biden was responsible for a policy begun under the Trump administration.
Price, who drew attention to a report to Congress, said some 18 entities have made “good faith efforts” to increase their involvement in Nord Stream 2, a controversial $ 11 billion pipeline project designed to transport Russian natural gas. To transport Germany, to reduce it.
State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks with reporters during a newsletter at the State Department, Wednesday, February 17, 2021 in Washington.
(Kevin Lamarque / Pole via AP)
Kremlin critics have said the project would double the amount of natural gas imported from Russia. If completed, Europe would be more dependent than ever on Russian energy. The poisoning of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has revived calls for the project to stop.
At Monday’s press conference, Price appeared to suggest that the Biden government’s efforts had led to the development of Nord Stream 2. The aforementioned entities have scaled down their operations in the pipeline project, Price said, showing that Biden’s strategy and the Congress was “working with good results.”
Matt Lee, Associated Press reporter, came in and told Price that all of this work had begun under the Trump administration.
“You’ve only been in office for a month, right? Now you tell me that in the last four weeks these 18 companies suddenly decided to say, ‘Oh my god! We better not do anything with Nord Stream 2,” said Lee. “You take credit for things the previous government did. Yes or no?”
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Price, noticeably confused, said he was only speaking on behalf of the State Department – occupied by the same people since before Biden took office.
The heated exchange came after the Biden government added a series of sanctions to a Russian ship and the owner for their work on the pipeline project on Friday.
Senior Republican lawmakers criticized the move as inadequate, noting that the government had not penalized additional companies or individuals for work on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They also said the new sanctions were redundant because they duplicate the existing sanctions the Trump administration imposed on pipelayer Fortuna and its owner KVT-RUS in January.
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The sanctions were announced in a report submitted to Congress by the State Department late Friday night, three days after the February 16 deadline for their delivery passed.