In reaction to the Russian recognition of the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz is putting the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline on hold. Scholz announced this on Tuesday in Berlin. He instructed the Ministry of Economics to reassess the pipeline that will be used to route Russian gas directly to Germany.
Currently there will be no certification for the operation of the pipeline. “It’s going a new way now,” said Scholz. “This will certainly drag on.” It is clear that the situation must now be reassessed. “The situation today is fundamentally different.” That’s why “all the questions that move us should be included”.
Scholz announced the temporary end of the project after a meeting with Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin. Scholz asked the Ministry of Economics to withdraw the existing report on the analysis of security of supply at the Federal Network Agency, said Scholz. “It may sound technical, but it is the necessary administrative step so that the pipeline cannot be certified now.” Without this certification, Nord Stream 2 cannot go into operation, emphasized Scholz.
The responsible department of the Ministry of Economics will carry out a new assessment of the security of supply, taking into account “what has changed in the past few days,” said the Chancellor. “In this phase it is now important, in addition to the first sanctions, to prevent further escalation and thus another catastrophe. That is what all our diplomatic efforts are aimed at.” Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states on Monday and ordered troops to be sent to the embattled eastern part of Ukraine. The EU and the US have announced sanctions.
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Source: Nachrichten
