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Germany opposes extraterritorial sanctions, calls for talks

Merkel added that talks on the future of Ukrainian gas transit were underway. According to her, the talks "look promising," and unnecessary debates around Nord Stream 2 may negatively affect them

BERLIN, December 18. /TASS/. Berlin opposes extraterritorial sanctions, no matter if they target the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline or Iran, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the Bundestag on Wednesday.

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"We oppose extraterritorial sanctions, and it did not start yesterday because we faced a similar issue in relation to Iran," Merkel emphasized. "I don’t see any other option but to hold decisive talks [with the United States] and point out that we don’t accept extraterritorial sanctions," the German chancellor added.

Merkel added that talks on the future of Ukrainian gas transit were underway. According to her, the talks "look promising," and unnecessary debates around Nord Stream 2 may negatively affect them.

The United States’ 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, passed by the Senate on Tuesday, obliges the Washington administration to impose sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines. The legislation will now be sent for signing to US President Donald Trump, who said he would sign the Act once it was passed by the Congress.

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Angela Merkel Germany

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