PARIS, February 4. /TASS/. The launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will depend on Russia’s actions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with the Les Echos and Handelsblatt newspapers published on Friday.
"In this severe crisis, everything will depend on Russia’s position. <...> Russia is putting military pressure on Ukraine and using gas as a bargaining chip with us [EU]. That is why Nord Stream 2 cannot be removed from the sanctions list, that is absolutely clear," she noted.
Steffen Kotre, a Bundestag lawmaker from the Alternative for Germany party, member of the Committee on Climate and Energy, told TASS earlier that using Nord Stream 2 as an instrument to exert pressure on Russia would be a short-sighted decision that could greatly damage foreign policy.
Concerns over Moscow's alleged preparations for an invasion of Ukraine have been increasingly echoed in the West and in Kiev recently. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these statements as an empty and groundless escalation of tension, emphasizing that Russia posed no threat to anyone.