The latest Nord Stream 2 news from the Wall Street Journal said that Ukraine's European allies threaten to impose new sanctions on Russia, including the permanent blockade of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany, if the Kremlin does not agree to a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the Kremlin has raised the issue of restoring Nord Stream in talks with the Trump administration, within the framework of discussions on improving economic relations between Moscow and Washington. European Union sanctions will block any efforts to restore gas flows through the pipeline.
European officials want the Trump administration to tighten sanctions on Russia to force Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine. On May 10, the leaders of the UK, Germany, France, Poland and the EU visited Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
With the US, we call on Russia to agree to a complete and unconditional ceasefire for 30 days to create space for negotiations on a just and lasting peace, the European leaders emphasized in a joint statement.
Nord Stream 2 is an infrastructure project that symbolizes Germany's increasingly deep economic ties with Russia. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed in 2021 but has never been put into operation because Germany had suspended the project's certification right before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.
EU officials revealed that the European Commission Chairman Ursula Von Der Leyen discussed the idea of EU punished Nord Stream 2 with the new German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz when he visited Brussels on September 9. This move needs the support of all member states in the bloc. The sanctions for Nord Stream 2 will be separate from the newly proposed EU sanctions package. This means that sanctioning Nord Stream 2 may take effect if Russia refuses or violates the ceasefire.
This week, the EU increased economic pressure on Russia by announcing a detailed plan to cut most of Russia's energy imports by 2027. The EU plan includes banning short-term gas import contracts by the end of 2025 and canceling long-term gas import contracts in 2027. Europe spent about €23 billion last year, equivalent to about $25.9 billion today, on energy imports from Russia.
Europe was Russia's largest energy exporter before the conflict broke out in Ukraine.
On May 9, in an interview with Bild newspaper, German Chancellor Merz warned that there would be more severe sanctions if Russia rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposal and refused to negotiate a peace deal.
On May 10, a senior German government official said the new government was determined to take all political and legal measures to prevent the restoration of the gas pipeline.
Nord Stream 2 was built with the support of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Nord Stream pipeline running parallel to Nord Stream 2 has also now stopped operating.
These two gas pipeline systems were blown up in September 2022. Only one Nord Stream 2 pipeline remained intact after the attack.
