German diplomat proposed three conditions for launching Nord Stream 2

He published his article on this subject in the Spiegel magazine.

According to Ischinger, stopping the construction of the gas pipeline at this stage is a bad idea, which could lead to billions of dollars in damage to Gazprom and leaving the unfinished pipeline at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

“Whether someone likes it or not, Germany and other European countries will need Russian gas for many years to come,” the diplomat emphasized.

He also noted that if Germany stops the project for political reasons, Russia "will certainly feel entitled to retaliate."

According to Ischinger, there is a "less attractive option" that allows the completion of Nord Stream 2, but under a number of conditions.

The first condition is that Berlin introduces a mechanism for "emergency shutdown" of the pipeline and allows the European Union to use this mechanism.

The second condition provides for the creation of a "Euro-Atlantic Energy Treaty", which will pursue the goal of transitioning to renewable energy sources, strengthening the integrity of the European gas market and increasing support for Ukraine and its economic development.

The third stipulation implies that Berlin must let Gazprom know that "political opposition" within Germany and elsewhere in the West has "grown so much" that Germany "no longer considers it politically expedient to open the gas valve after the pipeline is completed."

In his article, Ischinger added that the position of Germany should be clear: "now it depends only on Russia to recreate the political circumstances and the atmosphere in which Berlin would give the green light to gas."

The diplomat also called on the German authorities to coordinate their approach in this matter with the United States, the European Commission and partners in Eastern Europe.

Earlier, the head of the Bundestag Committee on Economics and Energy, Klaus Ernst, urged not to discuss with the United States the "mechanism for stopping" the construction of the gas pipeline.

Also, the Minister of Energy and Economy of the Federal Republic of Germany Peter Altmeier said that he considers it wrong to constantly raise new questions about Nord Stream 2.

As noted by the head of the German Foreign Ministry, Heiko Maas, the main priority of the FRG government at present is to create conditions for the completion of the pipeline construction.