BERLIN, February 22. /TASS/. The German government stops the certification process of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project after Russia recognized the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.
"The situation today is radically different, and therefore, in the light of the recent developments, we must reevaluate it with regard to Nord Stream 2. Today I asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs to withdraw a report with an energy security analysis from the Federal Network Agency," Scholz said. "This is a technical but necessary administrative and legal step, without it the pipeline’s certification cannot happen," he added.
"Without this certification, Nord Stream 2 cannot be launched," Scholz said.
"At this stage, it is important to prevent a new escalation and thus a catastrophe. All our diplomatic efforts are aimed at this," Scholz argued. "These are very difficult days and hours for Europe," he said.
Nord Stream 2 AG needed to be registered as an independent transport operator in order to launch the gas pipeline. On November 16, 2021, the German Federal Network Agency suspended certification due to organizational and legal issues.
On December 29, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia and its partners had completed Nord Stream 2 and stressed that as soon as partners in Europe decide to start work, large additional volumes of Russian gas will immediately begin to flow there. Putin expressed confidence that the launch of Nord Stream 2 would lead to lower gas prices in Europe.
Tensions escalated along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine on the morning of February 17. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) reported the heaviest shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in months. On February 18, the heads of the LPR and DPR, Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of the republics’ residents to Russia. A general mobilization was ordered in the Donbass republics on February 19.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees at the ceremony in the Kremlin on recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Putin met with DPR and LPR leaders, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, and signed with them the treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual aid between Russia and both republics.