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German Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck has warned that the Russian North Stream 2 pipeline could face “serious consequences” from Germany if Russia attacks Ukraine.
“Any new military action can not pass without serious consequences,” Habeck said, referring to the gathering of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.
“The issue of commissioning (of the ‘North Stream 2’ pipeline) remains open and must be decided according to European and German law,” he added.
But no “if there are new violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity” can be expected regarding the pipeline, the German minister said in an interview published December 19 in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Habeck also said that an invasion of Russia would push Berlin to rethink cooperation with Moscow regarding the pipeline.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is said to be doubling natural gas supplies from Russia to Germany. But the project has dragged on for years and has been criticized by Germany’s allies in the European Union, including Poland.
The United States and Ukraine oppose the pipeline, arguing that it would jeopardize Europe’s energy security by increasing its dependence on Russian gas. But it would also make it impossible for Ukraine to benefit from gas transit taxes.
The new German government has already threatened to block the pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine.
“If we have further escalations, this pipeline will not be operational,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
The North Stream 2 project is awaiting approval from German regulators. The company that controls this pipeline has submitted the documents to restart the certification process. But, even if approved by German regulators, the operation of the pipeline must also be approved by the European Commission.rel
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