BERLIN, August 22. /TASS/. The German government intends to tighten sanctions against Russia, despite its own losses, while there is almost no chance of using the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Sevim Dagdelen, a foreign policy expert of Germany’s Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance — Reason and Justice, said.

"Everything indicates that Berlin intends to tighten sanctions against Russia, even if this means further self-destruction of the German economy. The German government is acting like a roulette player who has already suffered heavy losses and believes that he can win by raising the stakes," Dagdelen told TASS.

She also said there was practically no chance of using Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"The European Commission, with the approval of the German government, will finally close the Nord Stream pipeline. Even if a US company replaces the operator, I don't see any chances. Instead, the German government counts on much more expensive gas from the US or Qatar, even if this leads to the decline of the German industry," the politician stated.

On July 18, the EU ambassadors, after two months of discussions, agreed on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which included more than 50 individuals and organizations. The European Union has also imposed a total ban on operations with Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, including the supply of goods and services, which prevented the completion of construction, maintenance, operation and any future use of the pipelines.

The construction of Nord Stream 2 was finished in September 2021. It was originally planned to be completed by the end of 2019, but work was delayed by US sanctions. The gas pipeline, which runs from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany, consists of two strands with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year.

In September 2022, an unprecedented attack hit the three lines of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines leaving only one line of the Nord Stream-2 operational. Russia’s Prosecutor General's Office initiated a case on an act of international terrorism. It is currently impossible to determine the time frame for restoring functionality of the gas pipelines.