US sanctions against companies building the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline will delay completion of the project for several months and increase its cost, said a spokeswoman for German conservatives led by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Swiss-Dutch company Allseas previously announced the suspension of gas pipeline construction in order to avoid US sanctions provided for by a package of documents signed by US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

The operator of Nord Stream 2 announced that he would work on completing the project as soon as possible. According to the US, Nord Stream-2 will make Europe too dependent on Russian supplies.

“The sanctions will temporarily delay completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,” conservative lawmaker Peter Beyer told German public radio. “But I believe that in the second half of next year the pipeline will be completed.” 

“There are alternatives, which will bring with them delays as well as higher costs,” said Beyer.

Merkel had previously spoken out against US sanctions, but said her government would not retaliate. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that the pipeline will be launched, despite the sanctions.

The gas pipeline project with a length of 1,230 kilometers and a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year is being implemented by Gazprom with the attraction of investments from the British-Dutch Shell, German Uniper and Wintershall, the French Engie and the Austrian OMV.