Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to complete despite US sanctions: Kremlin

Russia has vowed to complete construction of an underwater gas pipeline extending to Europe, despite sanctions planned by the White House that have drawn condemnation from Germany.

The US Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that will see sanctions imposed on companies that work on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which aims to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Poland and Ukraine.

"We expect that this project will be completed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, censuring the sanctions as a "flagrant violation of international law".

"Moscow does not like such actions, and neither do the European capitals. Berlin does not like this and neither does Paris," he told reporters, noting that sanctions would only lead to higher gas prices for European consumers.

US lawmakers fear the pipeline, which is 80 percent finished, would bring Russia billions of dollars and increase Russian influence in Europe.

The bill now heads to US President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it.

Merkel opposes US sanctions

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed its opposition to the sanctions, denouncing their extraterritorial effect.

"I see no other way than to hold talks to make clear that we don't approve of it," Merkel said.

Manfred Weber, a member of the European Parliament, also denounced the sanctions, saying Washington was not behaving correctly on the issue.

"You can't undertake sanctions against a friend and a partner and hold business as a hostage," he told the Funke Media Group.

Russia’s Gazprom is funding half of the project while its European partners, Germany's Wintershall and Uniper, Anglo-Dutch Shell, France's Engie and Austria's OMV, are financing the rest.

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