Iryna Pohorila18:45, 17.05.25

Archival documents show that the German government was deeply involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, although it publicly concealed this.

New archival documents from the Chancellor’s office have shown that the German government, led by Angela Merkel, actively supported Russian gas projects, turning a blind eye to the risks.

When selling the Wintershall gas storage facilities to Russia’s Gazprom 10 years ago, German government officials were hardly concerned about gas dependence on Russia; they were more concerned about the reaction of Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic countries, wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

During the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the German government, as it turned out, was actually deeply involved in the process, although it publicly pretended that the project was an exclusively private initiative.

At the same time, as the publication noted, fears that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin could cut off gas supplies in the future were deemed “highly unlikely” and justified – it would be “technically and economically extremely difficult.”

However, the publication emphasized that this is exactly what happened when in 2022 the Kremlin first reduced and then stopped gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 after the imposition of European Union sanctions.

Moreover, the publication indicated that Merkel’s team even considered in the documents the possibility of lobbying for further projects – “Nord Stream – 3” and “Nord Stream – 4”.

As the Süddeutsche Zeitung notes, the chancellor’s office “almost heard no criticism” of the project, and there was even discussion of the possibility of Merkel herself personally convincing European partners not to support EU directives that hinder the construction of Nord Stream 2.

“Nord Stream – 2”

In 2022, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she did not think the decision to build Nord Stream 2 was wrong. She added that Nord Stream 2 had never been operational before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so it was inappropriate to say that gas was a Russian weapon.

(C)UNIAN 2025