Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has refuted all claims that Russia is using the Nord Stream 2 as a weapon and instrument to affect other countries from a political point of view.

The former chancellor stated that Russia had no intention to use the Nord Stream 2 as a weapon. “I do not believe in change through trade, but in connection through trade, especially with the second largest nuclear power in the world,” Angle Merkel said, commenting on her decision to construct the pipeline.  She supposes that the decision was quite difficult to make. “Then the thesis is that when Nord Stream 2 is launched, Putin will no longer supply gas through Ukraine or even attack it,” she explained.  Meanwhile, Merkel pinpointed that the special military operation started before the pipeline was launched. “In this sense, gas is not a weapon,” the former chancellor said. In the interview, Angela Merkel also explained her decision to choose Russian gas instead of liquefied gas from other countries by more beneficial conditions for the local industry.