In a recent interview given to Die Welt, Former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel admitted that his endorsement of the controversial Nord Stream 2 was a mistake. The German SPD politician even added that the fears expressed by Poland and the Baltic States regarding the project were actually justified. 

While still in function, Gabriel was jointly responsible for pushing ahead the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, as well as placating Russia. Back in 2014, already after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, he argued that the suspension of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline could “harm the peace talks” conducted at that time. 

Today, he emphasises that Germans have not been the only European nation that has been lulled with illusions with regard to Russia and its foreign policy. 

„Eastern Europeans have always called [including Russia in wider economic relations with Europe] an illusion – and they were right,” the former German vice-chancellor bitterly admitted.

However, Gabriel refused the exclusive blame of his Social Democratic Party for its dependence on Russia. He argued that the CDU/CSU coalition should be perceived as co-responsible for the current situation.

Another former Foreign Affairs Minister of Germany, current President Frank Walter Steinmeier, also admitted his country’s short-sightedness regarding Nord Stream 2 and Germany’s economic ties with Putin’s Russia. 

“My insistence on Nord Stream 2 was an obvious mistake. We focused on building bridges that Russia no longer believed in and about which our partners warned us,” Steinmeier told the German media. He added that his country “failed with the approach of including Russia in a common security architecture.”

„My assessment was that Vladimir Putin would not accept the complete economic, political and moral ruin of his country for his imperial mania — there, like others, I was wrong,” he admitted. 

Image: Reuters/British Poles

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen