The German authorities are considering various scenarios as a reaction to the situation with Alexei Navalny, including the suspension of the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

“We will put all the options on the agenda and make a decision at the appropriate time,” the minister said on the air of the ZDF TV channel.

At the same time, Maas noted that Russia can take part in the investigation of the incident with Navalny and thus "contribute" to the fact that the decision to suspend the construction of Nord Stream 2 is not taken.

“We cannot say that since the sanctions do not work, then there is no need to introduce any.

Sometimes it is necessary to take measures, thereby saying that we do not want to live in a world without rules, ”the minister added.

  • Heiko Maas

  • © Stefanie Loos / Pool via REUTERS

Nord Stream 2 is two strings of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year and a length of over 1200 km.

The highway passes through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of five countries - Russia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Germany.

Note that earlier a number of German politicians spoke out on the topic of "Nord Stream 2" against the background of the situation with Alexei Navalny.

Recall that on August 20, Navalny was urgently hospitalized in Russia, he was unconscious.

Relatives insisted on his transfer to the German clinic "Charite".

When Russian doctors found the patient's condition stable, he was transported to Germany.

Later, the official representative of the German government, Steffen Seibert, said that Alexei Navalny was allegedly poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.

Commenting on the consequences of the incident for the construction of Nord Stream 2, the head of the Bundestag Committee on Economics and Energy Klaus Ernst said in an interview with RT Deutsch that many European companies are participating in the project.

He called the calls to stop the construction of the highway a mistake.

“I think this is a mistake.

Because Nord Stream 2 is not Putin's project, but a project in which many European companies are involved and which is designed to ensure the security of gas supply to Europe, ”he said.

As the parliamentarian stressed, to put the project into question at the present time is "how to strike a blow to ourselves."

“And this is definitely not in the interests of Germany and Europe,” he added.

In early September, the vice-president of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Kubicky, assessed the possibility of stopping the Nord Stream 2 project.

"In the light of the currently available data, an immediate termination of construction would be inappropriate," he told RT.

According to him, it is necessary to wait for the results of the development of the situation with Alexei Navalny.

As Kubiki noted, if Moscow does not demonstrate its readiness to conduct an investigation, then further sanctions will need to be considered.

Against the background of new statements about the fate of Nord Stream 2 by the FRG, the Russian Foreign Ministry on the eve urged not to put forward ultimatums related to the prospects for the construction of the highway.

“Least of all I would like to make any predictions, I just want to emphasize that we urge to approach all these subjects with utmost responsibility and not try, especially not to try to us, the Russian Federation, to present any ultimatums: you must do this. then, and if you don’t, you will get it ”, - emphasized the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov.

He added that Russia can also issue ultimatums, but "there is nothing like this in the arsenal of the Russian foreign policy service."

Commenting on Maas's statement about Nord Stream 2, a member of the State Duma's international affairs committee Anton Morozov pointed to the correctness of Moscow's actions in the situation with Navalny.

“I believe that the Russian Federation, for its part, did everything possible in order to fully participate in the investigation of the incident with Navalny both on the territory of the Russian Federation and on the territory of Germany, in accordance with the request of the General Prosecutor's Office, we must get access to all materials that are significant in terms of the investigation into the Navalny case, "Morozov said in an interview with RT.

He pointed to the transparency of Russia's position and called on his German colleagues not to politicize the situation.

At the same time, the deputy stressed the importance of Nord Stream 2 for Germany itself.

“If Germany does not want to continue the implementation of Nord Stream 2, then this obviously hurts her interests more than ours, so we are ready to cooperate in any format and believe that the incident with Navalny should not serve as a basis for to present claims to Russia, and even more so, sanctions, "the parliamentarian concluded.

Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian government, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, drew attention to the need to impose official EU sanctions to stop the project.

“Separately, Germany cannot impose sanctions against Nord Stream 2, it must be done at the level of the European Union, that is, by a unanimous decision of all members of the European Union. Given the rather serious lobbying support that the project has in the European Union, the chances that absolutely all countries will vote for the sanctions are probably not so many, "the expert suggested in an interview with RT.