Germany on Saturday accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs, in an increasingly angry spat over Washington's decision to impose sanctions on companies involved with a major project to supply western Europe with Russian gas.
US President Donald Trump may loathe it, but the Russia-Germany gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 that runs under the Baltic Sea is set to be completed by the end of the year, its operators predict.
German authorities on Tuesday issued a final approval for a new gas pipeline from Russia, risking higher tensions with eastern neighbours fearful of European energy dependence on Moscow.
Russian gas giant Gazprom on
Thursday agreed to a plan with Shell, E.ON and OMV aimed at building a new gas
pipeline to Germany, the companies said in a statement.