U -turn at Nord Stream 2?

German ex-spy involved?

U -turn at Nord Stream 2 indicates

A former GDR spy could be involved in the revival of Nord Stream 2. The Trump administration also plays a major role in the restart plans.

Hardly any other project is exemplary for the demolition of relationships between the West and Russia such as Nord Stream 2. The gas pipeline was controversial, several US administrations had targeted the project. Both Donald Trump in his first term and Joe Biden urged his termination. It was only the Russian invasion in Ukraine that had the greatest supporters of the pipeline with which the Kremlin wanted to export cheap Russian gas to Europe.

Now the spectacular U -turn should take place. As the “Financial Times” reports, a consortium under the leadership of American companies apparently works to revive the project. The support involved from the White House, of all people from Donald Trump. He had already warned in 2019 that North Stream 2 could transform Germany into “a hostage of Kremlin”. The prediction should prove to be clairvoyant. It was only three years later that Germany rose from the agreement on the operation of the pipeline and from then on desperately searched for replacement for cheap Russian gas.

A former GDR spy could again be involved in the revival of Nord Stream 2. According to “Financial Times”, Matthias Warnig, a former Stasi officer, should be responsible for the conversations. Warning is considered the long -time confidant of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The business (and private) relationships of the two go back to the 1980s. At that time Putin was stationed as a KGB officer in Dresden, the young warning worked for the Stasi.

By 2023, Warnig was managing director of Nord Stream 2 AG, the operating company of the Pipeline project under the control of the Russian energy giant Gazprom. The construction of Nord Stream 2 was to be completed by means of a “climate foundation” founded by the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. On February 28, the work of the foundation was terminated against Ukraine under the impression of Russia’s war of aggressive law. T-online Investigative editor Jonas Müller-Töwe has researched the numerous connections from the project to the Kremlin in recent years.

Warnig is currently trying to intensify economic relationships between the United States and Russia, parallel to the peace talks on the Ukraine War. The “Financial Times” quotes anonymous sources also quotes close confidants of US President Trump in the talks.

According to the report, the core of the idea is a role of the United States as a middleman for Russian gas to Europe. The US government would not officially be integrated into the deal, but US investors could benefit financially and at the same time maintain regulatory influence on the gas flow to Europe.

Several persons trusted with the negotiations report that a US-conducted consortium has already developed a proposal for a business with Gazprom in the period after sanctions against Russia. The identity of the investors involved remains unclear. In the European Union, the reports trigger concern – several governments are supposed to discuss the potential consequences of a deal that would once again lead to Europe.

It is questionable whether the plan could be implemented. First of all, the United States would have to lift its current sanctions against Russia and Russian companies. At the same time, Russia would have to agree again to deliver gas to Europe and Germany. The federal government would also have to get involved with an agreement that would bring both a dependency on the USA and Russia.