German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is actively supporting EU sanctions on the "Nord Stream" gas pipelines in order to hinder cooperation between Russia and the US in this area, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper reports, citing its own sources.
„Merz is actively supporting the EU's proposed ban on "Nord Stream" in an attempt to stop any attempts by the US and Russia to renew their gas links. The Chancellor has tried to suppress any internal debate about the pros and cons of a possible resumption of the pipeline", the newspaper quoted three unnamed officials familiar with the discussions.
According to one of them, Merz wants to "Europeanize" the fate of "Nord Stream" flow“, because it “does not want to face potential pressure from Moscow and Washington“ alone.
On May 8, Reuters reported that Russia and the United States were secretly discussing ways to resume Russian gas supplies to Europe.
Sources familiar with the bilateral talks said that such a measure could contribute to the conclusion of a peace agreement for Ukraine.