Germany rejects Russian offer to renew Nord Stream gas exports

Germany rejected in offer on Wednesday from Russian President Vladimir Putin to renew exporting natural gas through its Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The offer was rejected out of hand by Germany, with government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann responding to Putin’s offer by saying, “Nice try.”

“Independently of the possible sabotage of the two pipelines, we have seen that Russia is no longer a reliable energy supplier, and that even before the damage to Nord Stream 1 there was no longer any gas flowing,” Hoffman said. “So for us, there is no reason to believe that that would change.”

Russia has severely limited oil and gas exports to Europe in response to sanctions from NATO countries resulting from its invasion of Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Putin continued to insist that the mysterious blasts that damaged Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September were not Russian sabotage but an “an act of international terrorism” carried out to damage the relationship between Russia and the EU, Fox News reported.

“The act of sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 is an act of international terrorism aimed at undermining energy security of the entire continent by blocking supplies of cheap energy,” Putin said. “Those who want to rupture ties between Russia and the EU are behind the acts of sabotage on the Nord Stream.”

Neither of the pipelines were in operation when the sabotage took place. Four explosions hit the pipelines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, two in Swedish territory and two in Danish territory.

An ongoing investigation into possible sabotage was opened by Germany, Sweden and NATO.