Berlin: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced the suspension of the certification process of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline citing Russia’s course of action over Ukraine.
Russia’s decision to recognize “the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR)” and “the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)” as independent states was a “serious breach of international law” that violated the Minsk agreements and the Charter of the United Nations, Scholz said.
The German Chancellor said it is now important to “prevent a further escalation, and thus a catastrophe. That is what all our diplomatic efforts are aimed at”.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. The 1,234-km pipeline, however, has been lying idle, pending a go-ahead from Germany and the European Union.
