Germany is ready to block Nord Stream 2 in case of new Russian invasion of Ukraine

Author

Olga Krotovska

The German Federal Foreign Office expresses its readiness to block the Nord Stream 2 launch if Russia resorts to new aggression against Ukraine. Annalena Baerbock, the Head of the department, also notes that at present the Russian gas pipeline still does not comply with the norms of the European Union, but the certification process continues.

"In case of further escalation, this gas pipeline will not be able to start operating," she said during the ZDF broadcast..

Additionally. The Green Party Co-Chair Annalena Baerbock took office in the government of Olaf Scholz, the new German Chancellor. This political force is known for its hostility towards the Russian Federation. There are several reasons for this, the BBC reports.

"Firstly, they support a principled foreign policy based on Western values and the protection of human rights and civil liberties. And secondly, they are against fossil fuels, they strongly advocated stopping the construction of the second branch of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline and achieved the inclusion in the coalition agreement of a clause on phasing out gas energy in Germany by 2040 (and coal energy—by 2030)," the outlet reports.

In addition, the Greens support Ukraine's joining the EU. There is another Minister who is a supporter of Ukraine in the new German government. This refers to Robert Habeck, another representative of the Green Party who was appointed as the Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

The new "Traffic Light" coalition that includes the Social Democrats, the Liberals and Greens demands that the Russian Federation stop its aggression against Ukraine.

"We demand to immediately stop attempts at destabilization against Ukraine, violence in eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea. The way to a peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the lifting of the related sanctions depends on the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements," the coalition agreement of the three parties reads.

However, the document notes that Russia is an "important player", and therefore the German side offers Moscow cooperation in the energy, environmental and healthcare fields. The coalition is also not averse to providing Russians under the age of 25 with the possibility to enter the Federal Republic of Germany without a visa but demands that the Kremlin stop restricting the rights and freedoms of the citizens.

Context. Recall: Russia initially planned that Nord Stream 2 would be completed in 2019. However, American sanctions prevented this. In the end, the pipeline was completed on September 10 this year.

Now the RF has to achieve certification of the gas pipeline. Shortly after completing the construction work, the German Federal Network Agency received the documents for the certification of Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent gas transmission operator.

In November, the German Federal Network Agenc allowed NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine to take part in the certification procedure for the Nord Stream 2 operator. The main position of Naftogaz is that Nord Stream 2 cannot be certified because of the lack of full compliance with European energy legislation.