Germany has repeatedly defended its participation in the Russian-European gas pipeline project despite criticism coming from the US, its European allies and Ukraine. After the recent incident off the coast of Crimea, when the Russian border control confronted Ukrainian ships, some conservatives in Germany claim this stance should be revised, Sputnik reported.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has spoken out against the country’s withdrawal from the venture project of Russia’s Gazprom and several European energy giants Nord Stream 2. He rebuffed criticism from lawmakers calling on the German government to drop out of the project in order to punish Moscow for seizing three Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait near Crimea late in November. Russia accused them of violating the Russian sea border and failing to react to legal demands to abandon dangerous manoeuvres.

The diplomat, representing the Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats’ coalition partner Social Democrats (SPD), argued that the pipeline would be built even if Berlin pulled out. At the same time, in the case of leaving the project, Germany would lose its leverage to influence Russia’s energy policy, including gas transit via Ukraine.

"It would still be built, but there would not be anyone advocating for alternative gas transit through Ukraine. That is why we consider it important to remain engaged politically," Maas told journalists