The heated exchange came after the Biden administration on Friday added a layer of sanctions to a Russian vessel and the shipowner for their work Nord Stream 2.
An Associated Press reporter took State Department spokesman Ned Price to task Monday for suggesting that President Joe Biden was responsible for a policy that had started under the Trump administration.
Price, highlighting a report sent to Congress, said some 18 entities have engaged in “good faith efforts” to scale back their involvement in Nord Stream 2, a controversial $11 billion pipeline project designed to transmit Russian natural gas to Germany.
Kremlin critics have said the project would double the amount of natural gas imported from Russia. If completed, it would leave Europe more dependent on Russian energy than ever before. The poisoning of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has revitalized calls for the project to be abandoned.
