"I assume that the pipeline will be implemented in the second half of 2020," Beyer told the Deutschlandfunk broadcaster in an interview.
According to him, a solution to the problem can be found through dialogue with a consortium of companies investing in the project and it is necessary to initiate such a dialogue with the US.
"We did this before, but unfortunately it did not bring success ... Everything must be solved politically. I do not see any other solutions," Beyer added.
The new set of US sanctions will target service-providing companies and individuals, who will have their US visas revoked and financial assets in the US frozen. The bill also provides for a 30-day grace period for them to wind down their operations.
Last week, US President Donald Trump signed the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which includes sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines along with a range of other measures. The legislation also bars military-to-military cooperation with Russia.
Ukraine is also actively opposing Nord Stream 2, fearing the loss of revenue from Russian gas transit. Russia has repeatedly stated that the project was completely commercial and competitive and that it did not imply the cancellation of the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine to the EU.
The Nord Stream 2 project is a joint venture between Russia's Gazprom and five European companies — France's ENGIE, Austria's OMV, the UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. The 745-mile-long twin pipeline will carry nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of gas per year from Russia to Germany, passing through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden.
