Juncker: if necessary, we will respond to US sanctions against Russia

The US intention to tighten sanctions against Russia could force the EU to react if it violates the economic interests of the EU, as the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview with ARD radio.

In response to the signing of the law to tighten sanctions against Russia by Trump, the head of the European Commission expressed satisfaction that the American side would take into account the remarks made by the staff of the European Union. At the same time, Juncker stressed that the EU "is ready to defend its economic interests, and it will do so."

“I said at the G7 and G20 that if the United States imposes sanctions, then we are ready for an adequate response. This led to a change in a significant part of the document on the issue of sanctions against Russia. This also contributed to the fact that the US Congress decided that sanctions can only take place in consultation with US allies, ”said the head of the European Commission.

Juncker is also seen as critical to working with Washington to ensure that sanctions against Russia are effective in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

The White House said Wednesday that Trump had signed a bill to tighten sanctions against Russia. It provides for the introduction of new sanctions against members of the Russian government and the expansion of economic sanctions on US-Russian trade and investment. The law also introduces new sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

The European Commission has previously expressed concern that the new restrictions on Moscow will have negative consequences for European companies, especially those involved in Russian energy projects.

Last week, the EurActiv portal published a list of projects that may be affected by the new sanctions. Among them, the Nord Stream Pipeline, built a few years ago (in which shares, in particular, the German, French and Dutch), the new Nord Stream 2 project, the Zohra gas field project in Egypt, the expansion of the liquefied gas terminal on Sakhalin, the LNG terminal on the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Finland, etc.