The US says it has reached a deal with Germany to prevent Russia from using its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as political leverage over Europe. The near-complete 1,230km (764 miles) pipeline under the Baltic Sea will double Russian gas exports to Germany. US official Victoria Nuland said it was “a bad pipeline”, but said the deal envisaged sanctions against Moscow if it tried to blackmail Ukraine. Ukraine says the Nord Stream 2 pipeline threatens its security. The country has been fighting Russian-backed separatists in the east since 2014. Russia also annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv fears a full-scale Russian invasion once Nord Stream 2 is fully operational. Ukraine also stands to lose about $3bn (£2.2bn) a year in gas transit fees. Poland is also opposing the pipeline, which runs from Vyborg in Russia under the Baltic Sea to Lubmin in Germany. Poland says the $10bn project threatens the security of central and eastern Europe.(BBC)…[+]