WSJ: EU Ready To Finally Block Nord Stream-2 If Russia Does Not Agree To 30-day Ceasefire

• 11.05.2025, 9:44

New sanctions are on the way.

European allies of Ukraine have threatened new sanctions against Russia, in particular - to finally block the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline if the Kremlin does not agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.

According to EU officials, on Friday, May 9, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed the idea of sanctions against Nord Stream-2 with the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his visit to Brussels.

The paper notes that the move would require the support of all EU member states. Restrictions are going to be imposed if Russia refuses the ceasefire agreement or violates the silence regime.

WSJ writes that the Russian Federation raised the issue of reviving Nord Stream in talks with the US administration, but, as the article says, the European Union sanctions will block any such efforts.

The newspaper recalls that the Nord Stream-2 pipeline, implemented despite the annexation of Crimea in 2014, became a symbol of deepening economic ties between Germany and Russia. This project was actively criticized by Ukraine, Eastern European countries and the first Trump administration, which imposed sanctions against it, considering that the pipeline makes Germany dependent on the Russian Federation.

Despite the completion of construction in 2021, the pipeline has never been certified due to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The publication also recalled that the Joe Biden administration imposed sanctions against the project operator.