The US House of Representatives has passed a non-binding resolution voicing opposition to a new gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, an energy project that is opposed by Poland.

The bipartisan bill describes the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline as a "drastic step backwards for European energy security and United States interests."

The resolution, approved on Tuesday local time, calls on European governments to reject the pipeline project.

It also urges US President Donald Trump to "use all available means to support European energy security," Poland’s PAP news agency reported.

The 1,200-kilometre Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is scheduled for completion in 2019, is expected to supply around 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, circumventing Poland, the Baltic states and Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump in July hit out at Germany for supporting the construction of Nord Stream 2, despite opposition from some other European countries, including Poland.

A US diplomat was earlier this week cited as saying that Russia is seeking to increase its power in Europe and its grip over Ukraine with the new gas pipeline to Germany.

The pipeline, which aims to bring Russian gas to Western Europe via the Baltic Sea, has been opposed by both Trump, a Republican, and his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama as a political tool for Russia to boost its power over Europe, the Reuters news agency has reported.

If Nord Stream 2 is completed, Ukraine could lose billions of dollars in transit charges, Reuters said.

A commentator for a German newspaper has warned that the contested gas link to Western Europe is not a business project, but a Russian “weapon against Ukraine.”

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in May that Nord Stream 2 was “a new hybrid weapon” aimed at the European Union and NATO.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said in October that the construction of the pipeline despite a lack of approval from all EU members showed a lack of solidarity within the bloc.

(pk/gs)

Source: PAP