* Nord Stream 2 will carry gas from Russia to Germany
* Pipeline is due to operate from early 2021
* United States opposes Nord Stream 2 project
* Merkel has shown unwavering commitment to the project
(Adds quotes, details on Nord Stream 2)
By Madeline Chambers
BERLIN, Sept 3 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel
faced growing pressure on Thursday to reconsider the Nord Stream
2 pipeline, which will take gas from Russia to Germany, after
she said Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a
Soviet-style nerve agent.
Merkel said on Wednesday that Navalny, who is being treated
in a Berlin hospital, was the victim of a murder attempt using
the nerve agent Novichok, and demanded an explanation by Russia.
Moscow has denied involvement in the incident and the
Russian foreign ministry said Germany's assertion was not backed
by evidence.
Western countries have condemned the attack on Navalny and
many German politicians want a tough response.
"We must pursue hard politics, we must respond with the only
language (Russian President Vladimir) Putin understands - that
is gas sales," Norbert Roettgen, head of Germany's parliamentary
foreign affairs committee, told German radio.
"If the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is completed now, it would be
the maximum confirmation and encouragement for Putin to continue
this kind of politics," Roettgen, a member of Merkel's
conservatives, told German television earlier.
Nord Stream 2 is set to double the capacity of the existing
Nord Stream 1 pipeline in carrying gas directly from Russia to
Germany. Led by Russian company Gazprom with Western partners,
the project is more than 90% finished and due to operate from
early 2021. This may complicate efforts to stop it.
The project has divided the European Union, with some
countries warning it will undermine the traditional gas transit
state, Ukraine, and increase the bloc’s reliance on Russia for
energy supplies.
The United States, keen to increase shipments of liquefied
natural gas (LNG) to Europe, also opposes the pipeline and has
targeted some firms involved with sanctions.
Merkel has been unwavering in her commitment to the project
which includes Uniper Wintershall DEA, Royal Dutch Shell, Engie
and OMV. She said last week that Navalny's case should not be
linked to the pipeline. Many lawmakers in her party, which is
close to business, still want it to be finished.
Former Social Democrat (SPD) Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a
friend of Putin and lobbyist for Russian energy firms, has been
involved with the pipeline and many in the SPD, which shares
power with Merkel's conservatives, are also committed to it.
"If we want to send a clear message to Moscow with our
partners, then economic relations must be on the agenda and that
means the Nord Stream 2 project must not be left out," Wolfgang
Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference and a
former ambassador to Washington, said.
(Additional reporting by Thomas Seythal and Vera Eckert,
Editing by Gareth Jones and Timothy Heritage)
