Washington (AFP)

US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo paved the way for tougher sanctions on Wednesday to prevent the start of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project between Russia and Germany.

"What we expect is that those who participate in this project will be subject to review for possible sanctions," the US secretary of state said during a press conference.

US President Donald Trump promulgated a law in late December imposing sanctions against companies associated with the construction of Nord Stream 2, believing that this work would increase the dependence of Europeans on Russian gas and thus strengthen the influence of Moscow.

These sanctions had been forcefully denounced by Berlin, the main beneficiary of Nord Stream 2, and by the European Union, which considered them an American "interference" in European affairs.

Pompeo announced on Wednesday that the project now falls under a law passed in 2017 by Congress to "counter America's adversaries through sanctions" (Caatsa).

While the December sanctions were aimed at technical assistance for the pipeline project, the Caatsa law provides for more severe measures, which can go as far as a ban on access to the American financial system.

After President Donald Trump's promulgation of this law in 2017, the then chief diplomat, Rex Tillerson, had excluded the Nord Stream 2 project from its scope, explaining that the project had already started before l approval of this law.

Pompeo canceled the exception on Wednesday, dropping the pipeline under the Caatsa law, but the move does not in itself authorize further sanctions.

- Bypass Ukraine -

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which has cost 9.5 billion euros so far, is funded half by the Russian oil giant Gazprom and half by European companies: the Germans Wintershall and Uniper, the Anglo - Dutch Shell, French Engie and Austrian OMV.

Almost completed, it should double the volume of direct deliveries of Russian natural gas to Western Europe, passing under the Baltic Sea to reach Germany.

While the German government continues to support the project, diplomat Chris Robinson, in charge of Russia at the US State Department, said that other European countries were opposed to it.

"Today we add our voice to that of Europeans who are worried about the Russian aggression," he told reporters. "The tools we have put in place today are helping to reinforce this message."

Germany, the main beneficiary of the project, sees the Russian gas pipeline as a stable source of energy. But the United States and certain European countries - Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries - fear that it would allow Russian gas to bypass Ukraine, the country with which Moscow is in open conflict.

"The Kremlin continues to support Nord Stream 2 to exploit and increase Europeans' dependence on Russian energy," said Frank Fannon, the US energy diplomat.

"Ukraine's energy infrastructure has a deterrent effect on Russian aggression," he added. "The Kremlin seeks to weaken Ukraine by making its infrastructure obsolete."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he hopes the pipeline will be completed by early 2021, which is a year behind schedule, with initial commissioning scheduled for late 2019 or early 2020.

While Berlin is traditionally one of Washington's closest allies in Europe, Donald Trump's relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel are strained.

At a NATO summit in 2018, Mr. Trump caused an incident with Ms. Merkel when he accused Germany of being "a prisoner of Russia".

"It pays billions of dollars to Russia for its energy supplies and we have to pay to protect it from Russia," he said, referring to the Nord Stream 2 project.

© 2020 AFP