Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Russia vowed Monday to respond to U.S. sanctions on its Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Germany, the AP reports.
The big picture: The U.S. enacted sanctions last week against individuals and companies building the pipeline — which forced a major contractor to suspend its work — arguing that it would increase Europe's dependency on Russian energy.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the sanctions "absolutely unacceptable, blunt actions that violate all norms of international law and diplomatic and human decency," according to the AP.
- Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's prime minister, said he has tasked his Cabinet with "possible restrictions" on the U.S. as retaliation.
The state of play: Germany said last week that it regretted the sanctions and believes the U.S is interfering in German domestic affairs.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the country is not considering retaliating against the sanctions.
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