On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill on new batch of sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The bill, which limits US President Donald Trump’s ability to lift the restrictions on Moscow, is yet to be signed by the president. The new restrictions target the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project into Europe, as well as Russia's defense, intelligence and other industries.
"I consider the US sanctions against Russia absolutely unacceptable. Political interests should not be mixed up with the economical ones, to the detriment of employment in the European Union," Kern wrote on his Facebook page.
Kern added that the issue of EU energy supply "is a matter for Europe."
The Austrian chancellor has already voiced his opposition to US anti-Russian sanctions. On June 15, Kern and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel condemned the draft of new US sanctions, which, they said, were about "selling American liquefied natural gas and ending the supply of Russian natural gas to the European market."
