Merkel calls for not using Nord Stream 2 a weapon

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline should not be used as a weapon, otherwise Germany will call for sanctions, German Chancellor Angeea Merkel said on Sunday after talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

"We gave to understand that we will stand for new sanctions within the European framework if we see that the pipeline is used as a weapon," she said, adding that Nord Stream 2 is not a Russian-German project, but a European one.

She stressed that gas transit via Ukraine should be continued after 2024 and it is time to begin talks on this matter. "I told the Russian president that ideally we should promptly extend the agreement that is in force until 2024," she said, adding that her country bears "special responsibility" in terms of ensuring further gas transit via Ukraine. "I am very serious about Kiev’s concerns," she stressed.