Two influential US Republican lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to prevent a French company from working on civilian nuclear energy projects with Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, Reuters reported.
In a letter, Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on Biden not to lift sanctions on Russia, arguing that removing sanctions would allow French company Électricité de France (EDF) to engage in nuclear energy projects with Rosatom.
The sanctions, imposed by Biden in 2021 and later amended, are designed to address alleged national security threats posed by Russia’s foreign activities. Lawmakers believe that “this waiver will result in more money” for Russia, which could impact the war in Ukraine.
We believe the only way to influence the administration’s decision is to go public.
Last month, Biden signed into law an aid package providing nearly $61 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. He is also expected to sign a recent congressional ban on imports of Russian enriched uranium.
McCaul and Risch argued that EDF’s exemption from US sanctions would allow it to acquire a subsidiary of a US company that had been involved with Rosatom in nuclear power projects in Hungary, Turkey, and Egypt. The projects have been suspended for years due to the sanctions.
The lawmakers stated that overdependence on Russian energy posed a threat to transatlantic security.
It is incomprehensible that your administration would consider actively perpetuating this dependence.
