Free Republic

BERLIN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Germany on Tuesday halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany, after Russia formally recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Europe's most divisive energy project, worth $11 billion, was finished in September, but has stood idle pending certification by Germany and the European Union. The pipeline had been set to ease the pressure on European consumers facing record energy prices amid a wider post-pandemic cost of living crisis, and on governments that have already forked out billions to try to cushion...

Germany said on Sunday it was continuing to work closely with the United States on implementing a deal on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea and carries gas from Russia to Germany.Germany's foreign ministry said it continued to coordinate closely with the U.S. administration on implementing a joint declaration on the $11 billion pipeline....The document also said Nord Stream 2 presented "no threat to Ukraine as long as reasonable gas transit is ensured," and referred to potential sanctions on the pipeline as "a victory for Putin" as it would divide Western allies, Axios added.

Recent works on the Third Reich have placed more emphasis on the social and political climate that led to the rise of Nazism after defeat in World War One and crippling reparation demands. Soon after World War Two, Germans clung to the belief that they had been held hostage by a criminal gang led by the charismatic Hitler, bent on conquering Europe and exterminating Jews.