Germany slams US sanction plan on Nord Stream 2

Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday lambasted US plans to impose sanction on the Nord Stream II pipeline project.

"Decisions on European Energy Policy are taken in Europe. We reject foreign interference and, as matter of principle, extraterritorial sanctions," Maas said in a press statement released in Berlin.

Germany's Economic Ministry also expressed "regret" over US plans to sanction the Nord Stream II project.

The US House and Senate armed services committees have given green light on a defence bill that would allow the Trump government to sanction firms that help Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company, complete the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.

US legislators on Monday agreed on the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which also includes the measure to punish companies involved in Nord Stream 2, from Russia to Germany.

The US administration has stepped up pressure on Berlin to abandon the Nord Stream II project, saying it would make Europe energy-dependent on Russia.

Once it is inaugurated, Nord Stream II pipeline is to transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia to Europe.