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For Chancellor Merkel, a lot "depends on the respective reactions of the Russian government"
Photo:
Markus Schreiber / picture alliance / dpa
After the poisoning of the Russian government critic Alexej Navalny, Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves it open as to whether the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline project could be affected by possible sanctions against Russia.
Merkel is of the opinion "that it is wrong to exclude something," said her spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday in Berlin.
At the moment it is still too early to answer the question about the consequences.
Merkel is working "on this important issue" with the foreign minister and supports his remarks from the weekend, said Seibert.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, described the allegations against Russia as "absurd".
After the poisoning of Nawalny, a new debate had broken out about stopping construction of the pipeline in response.
This should also increase the economic pressure on Moscow to solve the case.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) said at the weekend that he hoped that Russia's reaction would not lead to the project having to be reconsidered.
It was wrong to exclude something in the discussion, said Seibert.
He also stressed that it was far too early to make any statement about sanctions and that a joint response was being worked on at the European level.
The EU had given a legal basis for Nord Stream 2;
it is a European and not a German project.
The German government expects Russia to explain the incident: This is the "clear expectation" of Moscow.
As far as possible consequences for the controversial pipeline project are concerned, Chancellor Merkel had already stressed last Thursday at a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven that a lot "depends on the respective reactions of the Russian government".
Kremlin calls allegations "absurd"
Navalny has been treated at the Charité since August 22, after he collapsed two days earlier during a flight in Russia.
The German government announced last Wednesday that Navalny had been poisoned "beyond any doubt" with a chemical nerve agent from the so-called Novitschok group.
Merkel had described the case as "attempted poisoning", she said: "Navalny is the victim of a crime - he should be silenced".
The poison was developed by Soviet scientists in the 1970s.
Moscow rejects any blame for the health of the prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin.
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The Kremlin, on the other hand, does not anticipate a construction stop on the controversial Baltic Sea gas pipeline.
When asked whether he saw any risks that construction would not be completed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied on Monday: "No."
Moscow has always emphasized in the past that the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany was an economic project and not a political one.
Regarding the Navalny case, Peskov said, "Attempts to somehow associate Russia with it are unacceptable to us, they are absurd".
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