German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday halted the final certification process of Russia’s nearly operational natural-gas pipeline into Germany after the Kremlin recognized separatist-held regions in eastern Ukraine.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would nearly double the flow of Russian gas into Europe via Germany, has become a key bartering chip amid escalating tensions in Eastern Europe and a source of division among lawmakers in Washington.
Mr. Scholz said Tuesday that Russia’s recognition of separatist areas in Ukraine was a “serious break of international law” and that halting the pipeline was necessary to “send a clear signal to Moscow that such actions won’t remain without consequences.”
“Now it’s up to the international community to react to this one-sided, incomprehensible and unjustified action by the Russian president,” he told reporters in Berlin.
The 764-mile-long pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea has been nearly operational for months awaiting final certification.
Russia hawks have for years warned that the pipeline, which bypasses Ukraine, would give Russia outsized influence over the European energy market and allow the Kremlin to weaponize energy to strong-arm its geopolitical rivals in the region.
The completion of the pipeline was stymied for years by U.S. sanctions levied against the Swiss subsidiary of the Russian gas giant Gazprom that is spearheading the project.
The Biden administration waived sanctions against the company in May. It argued that the sanctions would have little effect in curbing progress on the pipeline.
In July, the Biden administration announced that it had reached a deal with Germany to allow for the completion of the Russian pipeline, reversing the prior two administrations’ opposition and prompting a bipartisan backlash in Congress.
Republicans have made several bids to reimpose sanctions on the pipeline to no avail. As tensions between Russia and Ukraine began to build, GOP lawmakers pointed to the pipeline as a key source of leverage for the Kremlin.
The administration and Democrats in Congress pledged to block the pipeline as part of a package of “swift” and “severe” sanctions threatened in response to a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised Germany for halting the pipeline Tuesday.
“This is a morally, politically, and practically correct step in the current circumstances,” he wrote on Twitter. “True leadership means tough decisions in difficult times. Germany’s move proves just that.”
Yuriy Vitrenko, the CEO of Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz, said the decision demonstrates that “Germany stands in solidarity with Ukraine.” He urged the German government to decisively conclude that the pipeline poses threat to the “security of gas supply in Germany.”
“Putin’s revisionist imperial policy poses a threat to Ukraine, Europe, and the whole world. Nord Stream 2 is one of the elements of this policy and therefore requires an adequate response,” said Mr. Vitrenko.
But Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, slammed the decision and warned the Europeans would soon witness a spike in energy costs.
“Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay 2,000 euros for 1.000 cubic meters of natural gas!” he said.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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