Earlier, Latvian European Parliament lawmaker Sandra Kalniete prepared a resolution to “stop” the Russian-Western European gas pipeline project amid growing US pressure on Europe over the issue.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has reiterated Germany's support for the Nord Stream 2 project, emphasizing that it was a purely commercial initiative and that Europe would have nothing to gain by rejecting it.
“This is an economic project. It would not benefit anyone if German and European companies were to withdraw,” Maas said, speaking to Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung in an interview published Saturday.
“We have made it clear that Nord Stream 2 can exist only if gas transit through Ukraine is secured beyond 2019. We have wrested this pledge from the Russians. It is clearly in the European interest that Ukraine continues to play a role as a transit country for Russian gas,” Maas added.
Earlier this week, German European Parliament member Manfred Weber asked German and European companies to reconsider their investment into the Nord Stream 2 project following last Sunday's Kerch Strait incident, which saw Russia detaining three Ukrainian Navy vessels which violated Russia's maritime borders and escalated the diplomatic spat between Moscow and Kiev.
On Wednesday, German cabinet spokesman Steffen Seibert said that the Kerch Strait incident would not change Germany's approach to Nord Stream 2.
On Saturday, European…
