Putin offers Germany a return to Russian gas via Nord Stream

Russia is ready to resume gas supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this today at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, according to Reuters. The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 subsea pipelines were heavily damaged in September 2022.

Putin suggested that any resumption of supplies now depends on Berlin. He said Germany must decide whether it wants to receive Russian gas via Nord Stream again.

Nord Stream 1, which brought gas from Russia to Germany, entered service in 2011. Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021, but gas never flowed through its pipeline. It was not put into commercial operation because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both pipelines were damaged in an explosion on 26 September 2022. No gas was flowing through Nord Stream 1 at the time of the explosions either, which Russia then attributed to necessary maintenance.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum runs until 6 June.