Stopping a Russia pipeline for moral reasons would cost industry too much, Germany’s foreign minister has warned.
And symbolic travel bans on Russian officials now look like the EU’s most probable response to the Kremlin’s second use of a chemical weapon in Europe in as many years, said EUobserver on Monday.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said “if there won’t be an contributions from the Russian side regarding the investigation in the coming days, we will have to consult with our partners.”
He did not exclude possible sanctions against Russia, saying that such measures should be “pinpointed effectively.” However, Maas also admitted that halting the building of the nearly completed gas pipeline would harm German and European companies as well as Russia.
“Whoever demands this has to be aware of the consequences,” he said. “More than 100 companies from 12 European countries are involved (in the construction), about half of them from Germany.”
Pipe-laying on the Russia-owned project is almost complete. /argumentum.al