To approve the bill, 60 votes were needed, but they failed to get them.According to Democrats, sanctions against the gas pipeline should be used only as a deterrent / photo REUTERS

The US Senate has rejected a proposal by Republican Senator Ted Cruz to impose sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

This is reported by  Dallasnews . 

“Putin believes that once he launches Nord Stream 2 and changes the region by invading, no one will be willing to impose sanctions,” Cruz said during hours of debate over the project.

Cruz also insisted that President Joe Biden encouraged Russian aggression by lifting sanctions against the pipeline last spring.

“According to the Democrats, sanctions should be used only as a deterrent, and to be introduced if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders an invasion of Ukraine.

“This is the Trump-Putin pipeline,” said Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez. “Now is not the time to take key leverage off the table,” he added.

Menendez devised an alternative to Cruz’s bill that would have sanctioned Putin and his inner circle directly and cut Russia off from the international banking system—a comprehensive and crippling approach.

“At this turning point,” he warned, “the Cruz approach may even be the excuse Putin is looking for… We must send a clear message that if Putin invades, the consequences will be devastating, that it will cost too much for the economy and the people.” Russia,” he said.

To approve the bill, 60 votes were needed, but they failed to get them.

Recall that earlier the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell  , said that the fate of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is connected with any potential conflict with the Russian Federation over Ukraine.

If Russia decides to de-escalate the conflict, the decision to launch Nord Stream 2 will be made by the European and German regulators.

(C)UNIAN 2022