Klingbeil called for an end to the Nord Stream 2 controversy.
(Photo: imago images/Eibner)
Berlin The SPD leadership has backed Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s position that all possible sanctions are on the table in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Party chairman Lars Klingbeil made it clear on Saturday at the sidelines of a closed meeting of the SPD presidium that this also includes consequences for the controversial Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline.
“If there is a further escalation from Russia, then all options are on the table,” he said. “When all options are on the table, there are few or none that are wrong. And I believe that the clarity of this statement cannot be surpassed.
At the beginning of the week, following much hesitation, SPD politician Scholz made it clear that all sanctions are conceivable for him if Ukraine’s borders are violated. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD), on the other hand, had called for the pipeline between Russia and Germany to be put into operation quickly on Thursday. “I hope for a speedy, rule of law procedure so that the line can go into operation,” she said. “I am firmly convinced that we urgently need this Baltic Sea pipeline.”
Klingbeil now called for the controversy over the topic to end. “We should now stop with this polyphony that we have had in the last few days,” he said. Regarding the approval process, he said that it was up to the Federal Network Agency. “There is no political influence there.” The Federal Network Agency interrupted the certification process for Nord Stream 2 in November and issued conditions that the operators want to meet. Only then can the procedure be continued.
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