AfD leader says Germany should bargain launch of Nord Stream 2 for gas payments in Euro

Berlin [Germany], April 29 (ANI/Sputnik): Germany could agree to launching the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in exchange for Russia agreeing to sell gas in euros, Tino Chrupalla, the co-chairman of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said in an interview with Sputnik.
"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.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after recognizing the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics. 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. (ANI/Sputnik)