Head of German Nord Stream 2-Hosting Land Speaks Against Linking Project to Navalny Case

BERLIN, September 3- The developments surrounding the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny should not affect the progress of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a German land through which the pipeline is set to pass, said on Thursday. At the same time, the official said none of…

BERLIN, September 3 (Sputnik) – The developments surrounding the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny should not affect the progress of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a German land through which the pipeline is set to pass, said on Thursday.

Navalny is currently undergoing treatment in a German hospital after suffering a medical emergency in late August. On Wednesday, the German government said that doctors found traces of a nerve agent from the Novichok group in the opposition figure’s system. Several German lawmakers responded by calling for either a temporary halt or complete abandonment of the Nord Stream 2 project, a massive offshore pipeline designed to pump Russian gas directly to Germany and potentially other European countries if connected to the EU pipe networks.

“In the case of Navalny, I share the federal government’s position. Those responsible for the poisoning must be identified and held accountable,” Schwesig said, as quoted by German news agency dpa.

At the same time, the official said none of these developments should affect the completion of Nord Stream 2, as Germany “needs the pipeline to the Baltic Sea for its future energy security.”

Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, too, called for not linking the Navalny affair to the progress of Nord Stream 2.

On August 20, Navalny fell ill during a domestic Russian flight. He was initially treated and put into a medically induced coma in the Siberian city of Omsk, where the plane made an emergency landing. Two days later, the man was flown to Berlin-based hospital Charite for further treatment.

German doctors initially claimed they found traces a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors in his system.