German SPD official defends pro-Nord Stream 2 policy

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is seen on a large-diameter pipe at the Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant owned by ChelPipe Group in Chelyabinsk, Russia, February 26, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The Nord Stream 2 pipeline to bring Russian gas to Germany should not be mixed up with political and human rights disputes with Moscow, a senior official from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) that leads Germany's coalition government told Reuters.

The pipeline was completed in September, but is awaiting approval from German and European Union regulators, and some politicians - in Germany and abroad - have said it should be blocked due to several policy disagreements with Russia.