Strong words from the former German Chancellor. “The country's long-term dependence on Russian energy was a mistake.”

Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that Germany's long-standing dependence on Russian energy supplies was a mistake. The social democrat testified before the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliamentary committee explaining the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

According to the dpa report, when testifying before the commission, Scholz considered it a mistake that Germany had been dependent on Russian energy supplies for many years. At the same time, he stated that long before Russia launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, he supported the construction of LNG terminals on the German coast in order to diversify supplies.

– Germany's quick independence from Russian gas after 2022 was possible, among others, thanks to the terminals in Brunsbuettel, Stade and Wilhelmshaven, Scholz said.

Scholz, 67, is another top politician who appeared before the committee in Schwerin. Previously, they testified before her, among others: former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and former Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel. Schroeder, who was head of the board of directors at the Russian oil company Rosneft from 2017 to 2022, defended the project.

During the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, when Nord Stream 2 was being built, Scholz was, among others, Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor. In December 2021, the social democrat took over as head of government.

Nord Stream 2 was never launched. Its construction was completed in 2021, but the project was not certified. Germany, during Scholz's government, suspended the process of approving the project just before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Later, both gas pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, were seriously damaged in an explosion.

From Berlin Mateusz Obremski (PAP)

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