Germany on Tuesday put on ice the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline in response to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, finally halting the 10-billion-euro project that has long irked allies, IgbereTV reports.
Berlin had over the years doggedly pursued the pipeline which was set to double natural gas import capacity from Russia, despite opposition from the United States and Eastern Europe which fear it would leave the continent too dependent upon Russian energy.
Through controversies that had weighed on German-Russian ties — from the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to several spying scandals to a series of cyberattacks, the German government had pushed on with the project, which was finally completed last year and was awaiting regulatory approval
