Germany: No green light for Nord Stream pipeline if any Ukraine escalation

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia will not be allowed to operate in the event of any new "escalation" in Ukraine, under an agreement between Berlin and Washington, Germany's new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday.

"In the event of further escalation this gas pipeline could not come into service," Baerbock told German television station ZDF, clarifying earlier threats made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Baerbock was speaking after the weekend G7 meeting on tensions with Russia, and ahead of a sit-down with her European partners on Monday.

Scholz had earlier said during a visit to Poland that: "It would be a serious mistake to believe that violating the borders of a European country would remain without consequences."

The pipeline, which has been backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the one hand and by Scholz's predecessor Angela Merkel on the other in recent years, has been heavily criticised by many countries. 

The United States and several Eastern European countries are worried that Europe is too dependent on Putin's Russia. 

Moreover, Ukraine -- until now one of the major transit countries for Russian gas to Europe, as well as fighting Russian-backed separatist forces inside its own borders -- fears that it will be economically and diplomatically weakened by the project, which bypasses its territory.

Scholz said that Germany would "do anything" to ensure that Ukraine remains a transit country for Russian gas exports to Europe.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asked Scholz to suspend the pipeline, warning that Moscow would use it to "blackmail" Europe.