Merkel knew about Putin's intention to blackmail Europe with gas - mass media

Handelsblatt points out that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel knew that Putin intended to blackmail Europe with gas, but kept this information secret.

Investigators refer to declassified documents on the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. In particular, they found a note from an official of the German Ministry of Economics dated August 2021, in which it was said that Russia was waiting for the completion of the launch of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline and therefore was holding back gas exports to North-Western Europe.

According to the expert, in this way Putin tried to create a gas shortage on the European continent in 2021 and speed up the commissioning of the gas pipeline in which the Kremlin was so interested. At the same time, Putin expected that Berlin, under pressure, would not finalise its certification and would allow the pipeline to be operated without a thorough analysis of its operational characteristics.

At the same time, the expert noted that the German gas storage facilities owned by Gazprom were only partially filled at that time, and Russia deliberately reduced gas supplies to the EU.

It is noted that Merkel was aware of Moscow's plans to start gas blackmail against Europe, but answered journalists that there was no cause for concern and Russia continued to supply gas to Europe in the previously announced volumes. Then Europe entered the winter with small gas reserves and the threat of irregular supplies, which caused panic in the EU, and helped Moscow to exert political pressure on a number of countries that depended on Russian fuel.

As the publication notes, Merkel could have avoided such an unpleasant situation if Germany had passed a law obliging operators of underground storage facilities to ensure a certain level of their fullness on the eve of winter. However, the former Chancellor did not lobby for it. It was Olaf Scholz who did it after she left.

It should be noted that Nord Stream 2 is a Russian gas pipeline running over 1,200 kilometres under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, bypassing transit countries such as Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States. It is a continuation of the first Nord Stream pipeline and its purpose was to increase the supply of Russian natural gas to Europe, namely to the Federal Republic of Germany, which was to distribute it further to the EU countries.

Its construction was opposed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo, and Poland was also opposed because of the threat of stopping gas transit through its territory and losing control over gas supplies. US President Donald Trump tried to stop the construction. His administration imposed sanctions against the operators.

In June 2021, Warsaw drew attention to the deployment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and the threat of a serious conflict on the EU borders. Poles called for an immediate halt to the project. But the German Ministry of Economics did not react.

In September 2021, Nord Stream-2 was completed, but did not manage to pass the certification stage. A few months later, Russia invaded Ukraine on a full scale, the project was frozen, and on 26 September 2022 both Nord Streams were undermined.