Germany’s Merkel defends gas pipeline

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday stood by her backing of a GermanRussian gas pipeline project despite the Navalny case and the threat of U.S. sanctions.

Merkel said her government’s position on Nord Stream 2 is still unaffected by tensions over Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who recovered in Germany from his poisoning with a nerve agent last summer and was arrested on his return to Russia.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would bring Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, also faces bipartisan opposition in the United States. Washington has said the project would make Europe more dependent on Russian gas and hurt European energy security. The Kremlin has responded by accusing the U.S. government of trying to promote sales of its own liquefied natural gas.

Nord Stream 2 is owned by Russian state company Gazprom, with investment from several European companies. The project is close to completion, though the threat of U.S. sanctions has caused delays.