Germany's Merkel seeks to assure Ukraine on Russian gas link

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is promising to consider the impact of a new Russian-German gas pipeline on Ukraine as plans progress.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline would pump Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea. It is viewed suspiciously in some eastern European countries which fear losing transit revenue if Russian gas supplies no longer cross their territory once the pipeline is built.

Merkel said she listened carefully to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's concerns at a meeting Tuesday. She said Ukraine must retain a role in gas transit, adding: "A Nord Stream 2 project without having clarity about how things continue with the Ukrainian transit role is not possible."

She acknowledged that "it is not just a business project; of course political factors have to be taken into account."