Russia is confident it can shrug off Germany’s decision to halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and believes EU efforts to diversify the bloc’s energy sources will fail, according to three people close to the Kremlin and its state-run gas monopoly Gazprom.
Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz surprised political observers on Tuesday when he froze the approval process for the $11bn pipeline, which runs beneath the Baltic Sea and would double the volume of gas sent directly from Russia to Germany. Scholz also vowed to wean his country off gas.
The move was part of a European response to Moscow’s decision to recognise two breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent republics, amid international concern that Russia is preparing a full-blown invasion of its neighbour.