German Foreign Minister calls on US to refrain from imposing sanctions on Nord Stream 2

German Foreign Minister calls on US to refrain from imposing sanctions on Nord Stream 2
# 13 December 2019 15:00 (UTC +04:00)

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called on the US Senate to refrain from adopting the draft defence budget that envisages sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, APA reports citing Sputnik.

The US draft defence budget for 2020, adopted by the House of Representatives, envisages sanctions against companies engaged in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 and the TurkStream pipelines. US President Donald Trump has pledged to sign the legislation immediately after it is submitted to him. Before that, the bill must be supported by the Senate.

“We call on the Senate not to follow that [the decision of the House of Commons],” Maas told the Handelsblatt newspaper.

He expressed a hope that the US plans to target the Nord Stream 2 project could be reversed.

“We believe that is unacceptable as this is an attempt to influence sovereign decisions of Europe. We are holding negotiations with the United States,” the minister added.

The Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture between Gazprom and five European companies: France's ENGIE, Austria's OMV, the UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall.

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