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The end of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would hit Russia hard. After the poison attack on the opposition politician Alexej Navalny, the pressure on the federal government is increasing.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) also does not rule out the possibility that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea will be affected by possible sanctions against Russia. “The Chancellor agrees with the statements made by the Foreign Minister over the weekend,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in view of possible EU reactions to the poison attack on Russian opponent Alexej Navalny.
Seibert: Too early to say anything about sanctions.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) said over the weekend that he hoped Russia’s reaction would not lead to the project having to be reconsidered. It is wrong to exclude one item from the discussion, said government spokesman Seibert.
At the same time, he stressed that it was too early to make a statement on sanctions. The Russian government is expected to explain in advance the motives for the poison attack. Furthermore, the EU had provided a legal basis for Nord Stream 2, which was a European project and not a German one.
There is a clear expectation that Russia will first answer serious questions about the Navalny case, Seibert said. However, this cannot be expected in a few days. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is being built across the Baltic Sea and is intended to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany. It is debated whether the project should be halted or suspended in response to the Navalny poisoning.
Kremlin: “the accusations are absurd”
Russia itself does not expect sanctions or even a construction freeze on the Prestige project: When asked if he saw any risk that construction would not be completed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov responded on Monday in Moscow: “No. “. Moscow has always emphasized in the past that the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany was an economic project and not a political one. “Attempts to somehow associate Russia with it are unacceptable to us, they are absurd,” the spokesman said.
Navalny has been treated at the Charité since Aug. 22, after he collapsed two days earlier during a flight in Russia. The federal government announced Wednesday that Navalny had been poisoned “without question” with a chemical nerve agent from the so-called Novichok group.
The poison was developed by Soviet scientists in the 1970s. Moscow rejects any blame for the health of the prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin.
