Trump signs off on sanctions targeting Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline

President Donald Trump has approved US sanctions against companies developing a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which Washington claims endangers national security.

The sanctions, part of a larger defense spending bill Trump signed on Friday, aim to halt the construction of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

The new law will revoke US visas and freeze American properties owned by anyone who continues to work on the pipeline.

US lawmakers have argued that the project would make their European allies too dependent on Russian energy and give Moscow more leverage on the continent. The European Union has opposed the sanctions.

US sanctions also threaten Russia’s Turkstream pipeline, which will deliver natural gas to Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier warned that he would take retaliatory measures if the sanctions were approved.