On Monday, a chief spokesman of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she does not eliminate the possibility of sanctions to Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 in response to an alleged poisoning of a Kremlin critic.
The chancellor is under pressure from her conservative party to suspend the pipeline, which aims to double Russian gas exports to Germany.
The pipeline has also been splitting the EU with some members disagreeing with it, stating that it would increase the bloc’s energy dependence to Russia and undermine Ukraine’s role as a transit state for Russian gas pipelines to Europe. The US also opposes the pipeline as it is eager to increase its sale of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe.
Merkel is said to share the remarks of Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas that Russia must help to clear up the circumstances regarding the poisoning of Alexei Navalny or face the possibility of Germany withdrawing its support for Nord Stream 2.
Analysts believe that the spokesman’s statement is the clearest indication at this point that the chancellor would take action against the pipeline which she has supported before. However, spokesman Steffen Seibert also said that it was too early to decide sanctions against Russia for the incident.
Looking ahead, the Nord Stream 2 project, which is led by Russia’s state-run Gazprom and has Western partners, would likely face a difficult time.
