KEYSTONE KREMLIN:

The pipeline has now taken center stage during an escalating crisis between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

The US and NATO say Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops at its border with Ukraine, ready to invade. Moscow has denied this.

The West has threatened to impose fresh sanctions on Moscow, this time targeting Russian banks.

One theoretical possibility is to exclude them from the SWIFT global payment system, which is responsible for 35 million daily financial transactions worth some $5 trillion (€4.4 trillion).

Another proposal is to further delay formal approval for Nord Stream 2 to begin operations as leverage to force Russia back from the brink of war.

In a recent twist, Berlin is no longer ruling out shelving the pipeline project. 

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