A top leader of Germany’s largest political party has suggested limiting the amount of natural gas that would transit through the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project after Russia attacked three Ukrainian boats as they attempted to cross into the Azov Sea on Nov. 25.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, considered a top candidate for the next leader of the Christian Democratic Union party, told German public broadcaster ARD that Germany could not pull its support for the pipeline between Russia and Germany — that would be “too radical,” she said — but could limit gas flows.
Her statements partially echo comments by party leader and German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week at the German-Ukrainian Business Forum in Berlin.
“Germany insists that Ukraine remain an important (gas) transit state,” Merkel said at the Nov. 29 forum, adding that she believes Berlin can achieve this in the framework of the European Union’s Third Energy Package.
After the transit contract between Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz and its Russian counterpart, Gazprom, concludes at the end of 2019, “we must do everything to ensure that it is again filled with life,” she said.
Additionally, Merkel made several strong statements in support of Ukraine, calling for Russia to release 23 Ukrainian sailors it detained after attacking their boats.
She also stressed Ukraine’s role in the Azov Sea and pushed back against European politicians who call for a return to business as usual with Russia. Merkel said she is for working with Russia, but “I’m not for these cases…when a belt of countries near Russia cannot develop the way they want.”
A day later, Kramp-Karrenbauer said in comments to Reuters that the EU and United States should consider banning Russian ships originating in the Azov Sea from entering their ports.
That same day Merkel met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 in Buenos Aires. The two leaders agreed to further discussions on the Azov Sea within the Normandy Format, which includes Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France and has been used as a forum for working to resolve Russia’s war in eastern Ukraine.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, currently scheduled for completion at the end of 2019, has long attracted criticism in Eastern and even Western Europe. Its opponents allege that it will make Europe too dependent on Russian gas and leave the continent vulnerable to manipulation by Russia.
The pipeline project, which will cross the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, is especially threatening to Kyiv. Created to bypass Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 would potentially cost the country $112 billion in gas transit fees — or roughly two percent of its gross domestic product.
Meanwhile, the German government has insisted that the pipeline makes economic sense and is a private project between private companies.
