Germany rejects U.S. sanctions threat over Nord Stream 2 pipeline

BERLIN, July 16 (Xinhua) -- German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday rejected Washington's latest threat of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, saying "European energy policy is made in Europe."

"By announcing measures that will also sanction European companies, the U.S. government is disregarding the right and sovereignty of Europe to decide where and how we source our energy," said Maas, according to a statement by the German Federal Foreign Office.

"European energy policy is made in Europe and not in Washington. We clearly reject extraterritorial sanctions," Maas added.

Mass said that the German government had held numerous talks with the United States in recent weeks as Washington was planning to tighten a sanctions law against Nord Stream 2. The law -- U.S. Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act (PEESA) -- was enacted in late December 2019.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent fresh warnings of possible sanctions to companies involved in Nord Stream 2 and the second line of the TurkStream pipeline stretching from Russia to Turkey.

Pompeo claimed that the projects are not commercial but serve as Moscow's tools to exploit European dependence on Russia's energy supplies.

Peter Beyer, the German government coordinator for transatlantic relations, tweeted Thursday that the United States should grant Europe comprehensive energy sovereignty.