"Our party believes that the Federal Republic of Germany should in any case adhere to the launch of Nord Stream 2. Therefore, I consider the currency issue as not linked to the project. If the argument about trading in euros helps convince the federal government to put into operation the completed gas pipeline, then this may be a good idea," Chrupalla said.
He warned about a threat that "a wedge will be driven deeper into the European continent" and the Eurasian trade will be "permanently blocked by sanctions."
Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipeline project with a capacity to carry 55 billion cubic meters per year, enabling gas transit from Russia across the Baltic Sea to Germany. Both the United States and Ukraine have strongly objected to the project. Moscow urged Western countries to stop politicizing the launch of Nord Stream 2, arguing that it is a commercial project beneficial to both Russia and the European Union.
In this April 9, 2010 file photo, a Russian construction worker speaks on a mobile phone in Portovaya Bay some 170 km (106 miles) northwest of St. Petersburg, Russia, during a ceremony marking the start of construction for the Nord Stream pipeline.
© AP Photo / Dmitry Lovetsky
On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response, Ukraine's allies, including the EU, rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow. Germany ceased the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, forcing the Swiss-based pipeline operator company Nord Stream 2 AG to file for bankruptcy.
Addressing the sanctions and freezing of the Russian assets, Moscow announced that from now on, payments for natural gas must be made in rubles. Russia even suspended gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, since they refused to pay in rubles, and warned that it will reduce transit to third countries if Warsaw and Sofia withdraw gas from the transit flow without authorisation