Danish Parties Crave Sanctions against Putin, Nord Stream 2

The decision by the Danish government and Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen to join a coordinated EU response and expel two Russian diplomats has been met with full support from the Conservative Party, Sputnik quoted Danish Radio as reporting.

Conservative foreign rapporteur Naser Khader argued it was "high time" for Vladimir Putin "to meet the consequences on a level he can personally feel," calling for the Danish government to take further sanctions against Russia.

"I believe we should take more steps. Among other things, we should further sharpen the sanctions so that they hit Putin and his inner circle," Khader told the Danish Radio.

According to Khader, Denmark should therefore pursue a more economically restrictive policy toward Russia.

"I could imagine all EU countries joining, but that's not the case at the moment," Khader said, possibly referring to the 11 EU member states that abstained from expelling diplomats.

The Social Democrats, Denmark's largest party currently in opposition, also advocated the use of more radical tools from the diplomatic toolbox. According to the Social Democrats, the trans-Baltic gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 to be built by Russia's Gazprom in collaboration with a number of Western energy companies should be an "obvious" topic to look at.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the decision to expel Russian diplomats an "unfriendly step" that is "not consistent with establishing the underlying reasons and searching for the perpetrators of the Skripal incident."

The UK accused Russia of poisoning Skripal, claiming that the A-234 nerve agent was used, which led to Skripal and his daughter Yulia being hospitalized.