Rubio Disproves Allegations of Sanctions Deal on Nord Stream 2
(MENAFN) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio firmly dismissed a recent report suggesting that the Trump administration is weighing the removal of sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline as part of ongoing peace efforts related to Ukraine.
"This is unequivocally false," Rubio stated on X on Wednesday.
He clarified that neither he nor special envoy Steve Witkoff had engaged in any dialogues about "lifting sanctions against Russia as part of a deal with Ukraine."
Rubio sharply criticized the article, labeling it as "journalistic malpractice," and demanded that the story be fully retracted.
The denial was prompted by an article that alleged the U.S. government was internally debating the potential removal of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and other Russian-held assets in Europe as a component of broader discussions to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Based on the article, Witkoff was purportedly described as "the main proponent of lifting sanctions" and had allegedly instructed his staff to create a comprehensive list of all energy-related sanctions currently targeting Russia.
The report referenced anonymous sources familiar with the internal conversations. One source mentioned that although Witkoff introduced the notion, it "has not found much traction in the White House," and noted that Rubio had actively resisted the proposal.
Nord Stream refers to a system of underwater gas pipelines that connect Russia to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 1 has been in use since 2011, while Nord Stream 2 was finalized in 2021 but has never been brought online.
The pipeline was initially sanctioned during the Trump administration in 2019, and those restrictions were upheld and expanded by the Biden administration after the onset of the war in Ukraine.
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