Nord Stream 2 has currently no permit to operate and it is not expected to change, says Friedrich Merz.
Merz's statement comes after German and British media reports that the USA and Russia have discussed a future plan for Nord Stream during their negotiations on a stop to the war in Ukraine.
According to the reports, the idea was raised that an American company could buy natural gas from Russia and sell it as an "American" product.
The gas pipeline, which is the second of its kind alongside the older pipeline Nord Stream 1, was completed in 2021 but was never put into operation, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine the following year. In September 2022, the gas pipelines were sabotaged. Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of being behind the explosions, but no guilty party has been identified in any of the investigations.
