Reuters reports that “German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday there were good reasons to continue the European Union’s energy partnership with Russia for the time being but that might change if Moscow continues to violate basic principles.”  

“Merkel, speaking at a news conference in Berlin with Finland’s Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, said that in the medium- to long-term it might be necessary to reconsider that energy partnership with Russia.”  

“‘There are good reasons to continue the energy partnership with Russia,’ she said and noted that within the European Union different countries had different levels of dependency on supplies of Russian natural gas.”  

“‘Nevertheless we have naturally to think about what we might have to change in the medium- to long-term as far as energy policies go if there is a continued violation of basic principles,’ she said, referring to respecting national sovereignty.”