German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to talk about the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with the new administration of Joe Biden after the sanctions against companies participating in the project enter into force this week.

Merkel said on Thursday (January 21) that she did not intend to abandon Nord Stream 2, but was ready to talk to the US about it.

"As a general rule, my approach has not yet changed so that I can say that this project should not come to fruition," said the German Chancellor.

“We will, of course, talk to the US administration. We also need to talk about what relations with Russia in the gas sector are acceptable and what are not. It's not like there is no trade relationship between the US and Russia, for example in the oil sector, ”she added.

According to Angela Merkel, the state of gas relations with Russia should be discussed and the scale of the dependence on Russia should be assessed. The Chancellor emphasized that she continued to oppose US extraterritorial sanctions against Nord Stream 2.

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for an immediate end to the construction process of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and for the imposition of sanctions on Russian oligarchs operating in the EU. The case is related to the arrest of Alexei Navalny after his return from Germany.

Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin said that the completion of the construction of Nord Stream 2 would harm European solidarity.

"Poland understands the decision of the US government to sanction companies cooperating in the construction of Nord Stream 2," Jarosław Gowin, deputy prime minister and minister of development, labor, and technology, told journalists.

(EURACTIV.pl)