The controversial gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea is ready – but will Nord Stream 2 ever go into operation? Chancellor Scholz is skeptical about the Ukraine crisis.
In view of the escalating Ukraine crisis, the future of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany is uncertain. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) believes it is possible that the pipeline will never go into operation.
“In any case, this is a situation in which nobody should bet on it,” he said on Tuesday on ARD. “We’re a long way from that now.” The SPD politician made a similar statement on this question on ZDF.
According to the Federal Minister of Economics, it would have been wiser not to build Nord Stream 2 in the first place. Europe needs a diverse energy landscape and not “a lump of risk from the Baltic Sea,” said Robert Habeck (Greens) in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. For too long, people have been under the illusion that “the pipeline can only be viewed from an economic point of view”. However, energy policy is always “to be assessed in terms of security policy and geopolitics”.
Final exit is possible
Even if the Nord Stream 2 process has been stopped for the time being, the final end could still happen, said the Minister for Economic Affairs. At the moment it is “essential that Europe and the USA act in concert” and “neither enter into a race to outbid or undercut sanctions”.
The federal government had previously suspended the approval process for the operation of the Russian-German natural gas pipeline. In doing so, she reacted to the Russian recognition of the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. According to the Russian gas company Gazprom, the pipeline was completed in September 2021 and is intended to bring gas from Russia to Germany.
The crisis talks about the situation in Ukraine will continue on Wednesday: Before the regular meeting of the federal cabinet, Chancellor Scholz and the federal ministers responsible for security issues will discuss. The German press agency learned this from government circles. The Foreign Affairs Committee and the Committee for EU Affairs of the Bundestag also meet.
The FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff told the “Rheinische Post” that sanctions against Russia are now the right way. The diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution did not fail because of Germany, Europe or the United States, but rather because of “Putin’s nationalist and revisionist dreams of becoming a great power,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “And that’s why it’s also right to put the certification of Nord Stream 2 on hold.” He made a similar statement in the “Passauer Neue Presse”.
Gabriel welcomes the step
Former Foreign Minister and SPD politician Sigmar Gabriel warned of the consequences of stopping the gas pipeline for Germany, but he nonetheless welcomed the step. “I think nobody should delude themselves, we already have high energy prices, that will also affect us, but we have to show what peace in Europe is worth to us and I think we shouldn’t shy away from that.” , he told the broadcasters RTL / ntv.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “The danger of a new world war in Europe is very real and even within reach.” Even the Germans should no longer feel safe. “Should the Federal Republic abandon us Ukrainians instead of supporting us with all our might and courageous deeds, German prosperity will also fall victim to Putin next.” Melnyk, for example, reiterated Ukraine’s demand for German defense weapons.
Scholz rejects arms deliveries again
“Unfortunately, Berlin has hesitated and procrastinated for far too long and in the last critical few weeks no robust preventive measures were taken against Russia’s aggressive actions,” Melnyk told the Rheinische Post. The window of diplomacy has now narrowed massively. In the next few days, bold steps would have to be taken by the federal government and other partners in the EU and NATO.
Scholz had repeatedly refused arms deliveries to Ukraine. On Tuesday he confirmed on ARD: “It would be a wrong decision to change that now.” The federal government justifies the no with a fundamental rejection of arms exports to crisis areas.
Regarding the planned EU sanctions against Russia, which are due to come into force on Wednesday, Chancellor Scholz told the broadcasters RTL/ntv: “We are also able to decide on further sanctions if what happens in view of the military deployment cannot be ruled out, namely that there will actually be a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russia.”
Source: Stern

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