US Senate approves Russia-Germany gas pipeline sanctions
The US Senate has approved a bill to impose sanctions on companies that work on a Russian pipeline project set to send gas to Germany.
The Senate passed the bill with an overwhelming majority of 86-8 on Tuesday.
The measure, which has already been approved by the US House of Representatives, aims to halt the completion of the $10.6-billion Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea and set to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany.
The sanctions bill is expected to be signed into force as part of a defense spending bill by US President Donald Trump later this week.
The sanctions would revoke US visas and block property of those companies and individuals providing services on the controversial pipeline project.
The move came despite a warning from Germany, which recently called Washington to “mind its own business,” and underlined its opposition to any external interference and sanctions with extra-territorial effect.
The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce also said last week that the pipeline was important for the energy security of Europe and called for retaliatory sanctions in case Washington passed the bill.
The Russian project is facing a fierce backlash from American officials saying the pipeline would increase Europe's reliance on Russian energy, put billions of dollars in Moscow's coffers and increase Russian President Vladimir Putin's influence in the European continent.
US Senator Ted Cruz said last week that halting Nord Stream 2 should be a major security priority for the United States and Europe alike.
"It's far better for Europe to be relying on energy from the United States than to be fueling Putin and Russia and dependent on Russia and subject to economic blackmail," he told the Senate.
Russian Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 project plans to connect Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states.
Gazprom is jointly implementing the Nord Stream with Western partners Uniper, Wintershall, Engie, OMV and Shell. The pipeline will be 1,220 kilometers long and should be completed before the end of 2019 and become operational in mid-2020.
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