Russian gas pipeline project to face US sanctions

The US House of Representatives has approved a bill which will direct President Donald Trump's administration to impose sanctions against a Russian gas pipeline project beneath the Baltic Sea.

"The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) protects European energy security by imposing sanctions related to Russian energy pipelines Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream," the bill said on Wednesday.

US lawmakers contend that the Nord Stream 2 project would bolster Russia's geopolitical leverage in Europe.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz tweeted on Tuesday that he would work with the administration to "ensure that the full force of US sanctions, which take hold immediately, are brought to bear on the vessels constructing Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday reaffirmed in Washington that "neither Nord Stream 2 nor TurkStream will stop".

Lavrov also said he believes that the US Congress "is literally overwhelmed with the desire to do everything to destroy our relations".

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline runs from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, and TurkStream is a Russian pipeline that crosses the Black Sea to Turkey.

The Nord Stream 2, a twin pipeline stretching 1,230 km, is scheduled to start operation in the middle of 2020.

At the end of October, the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) granted a permit for building the last section of the Russia-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on the Danish continental shelf.IANS