Ukrainian crisis: the West announces the first sanctions against Moscow – Le Monde

After the recognition of the independence of separatist regions in Ukraine by Russiawhere it intends to deploy soldiers, Western countries promised, on Tuesday, February 22, heavy sanctions against Moscow.

After long hesitation, Germany finally gave in, suspending the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a flagship project for Berlin as well as for Vladimir Putin. The halt, perhaps definitive, to this pharaonic project was given by the German Chancellor himself.

“We need to reassess the situation, especially with regard to Nord Stream 2”Olaf Scholz told a press conference, adding that the Ministry of Economy will review the certification process in view of Russia’s actions.

The Nord Stream 2 project, spearheaded by the Russian public gas giant Gazprom and financed in part by European energy companies, including the German Uniper and the French Engie, is supposed to enable Russia to supply Germany with twice as much gas while bypassing Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 connects Russia to Germany via a 1,230 kilometer tube under the Baltic Sea with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, on the same route as its twin Nord Stream 1, operational since 2012 .

Ukraine satisfied with this suspension

The project, estimated at more than 10 billion euros, was co-financed by five European groups in the energy sector. In addition to Uniper and Engie, the Austrian oil company OMV, the German gas and oil producer Wintershall Dea and the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell are among its financiers. Germany is the main promoter of the gas pipeline within the European Union, which it believes will help it achieve the energy transition in which it has embarked, while making its territory a European gas hub.

Ukraine, in the first place, was afraid of losing the income it derives from the transit of Russian gas and of being more vulnerable vis-à-vis Moscow. Its president, Vlodymyr Zelensky, reiterated his call for a halt on Tuesday morning. ” immediate “ of the project. His head of diplomacy welcomed the suspension, “politically and morally justified”.

On Twitter, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, quipped: “Welcome to a new world where Europeans will soon pay 2,000 euros per cubic meter of gas! »

Deutschlands Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz hat den Stopp der Zertifizierung der Gaspipeline Nord Stream 2 angeordnet. N… https://t.co/cmjPssQgSe

— MedvedevRussiaE (@Dmitry Medvedev)

London sanctions five banks and three Russian personalities

Washington welcomed Berlin’s decision on Tuesday and announced new measures. “The President made it clear that if Russia invades Ukraine, we will act with Germany to ensure that Nord Stream 2 is not put into operation. We have been in close consultation with Germany overnight and welcome their announcement. We will take our own action today”said Jen Psaki, the spokesperson for Joe Biden, on Twitter.

A few hours after Vladimir Putin’s speech on Monday, Washington unveiled the first limited sanctions, specifically targeting the separatist territories of Donetsk and Lugansk. By executive order, Joe Biden banned all new investment, trading, or financing by U.S. persons to, from, or within these pro-Russian areas.

A first series of European sanctions against Russia will be presented in the afternoon after an informal extraordinary meeting of European Union foreign ministers, announced Tuesday in a joint statement European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.

In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his first penalties : “Today the UK is sanctioning the following five Russian banks: Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and Black Sea Bank, and we are sanctioning three individuals with very large fortunessaid the head of government in Parliament. This is the first installment, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do. »

Among the three people sanctioned are the businessman Gennadi Timchenko, a close friend of Vladimir Putin. “Any assets they hold in the UK will be frozen and the individuals affected will be banned from all travel here”said Boris Johnson.