MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. The implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project will continue amid the threat of sanctions against Russia due to the situation with Alexey Navalny, but certain delays are not ruled out, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told the YouTube channel Soloviev LIVE.
"I think it will withstand, although I do not rule out certain delays," he said, answering the relevant question.
The diplomat noted that the discussion around the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is not part of the common European agenda.
"The fact that the implementation of this project continued was largely the result of the active position of the German government and Germany's objective interest in letting this gas flow," he added.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the EU also expressed doubt that possible EU sanctions due to the incident with Navalny could affect Russia's participation in the SWIFT international settlement system.
"I don’t think so. In any case, if there is an attack on SWIFT, it will come from Washington, and not from Brussels," he said.
According to Chizhov, possible EU sanctions against Russia are "not a matter of tomorrow."
"I think, this issue will still be the subject of <...> substantive internal discussions," he said.
On Tuesday, speaking at a session of the European Parliament, head of the EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said that the European Union should approve a sanctions regime named after Alexey Navalny for human rights violations, similar to the Magnitsky Act in the United States.
Navalny incident
On August 20, a plane carrying Navalny made an emergency landing in the Russian city of Omsk after he had suddenly felt unwell in mid-flight. Navalny was taken to the hospital in a coma and was hooked up to a ventilator. On August 22, he was flown to Germany for treatment at Berlin’s Charite hospital.
On September 2, the German government said, citing the results of a toxicological analysis by Bundeswehr experts, that Navalny had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. Later on, Berlin said that three European laboratories, including those in France and Sweden, had confirmed the conclusions made by German specialists. Several political leaders in Germany demanded termination of the Nord Stream 2 project following the incident with the Russian opposition figure. Before that, official Berlin always supported the project.