Michael Hüther, director of the German Economic Institute (IW), warns against jumping to conclusions after Russia started delivering gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline again this week. The resumption of deliveries after the end of the planned maintenance work is no reason to give the all-clear.
“Russia is now delivering through Nord Stream again, but we cannot rely on gas flowing in winter,” said the economist and historian to WELT AM SONNTAG. “Putin can be trusted to turn the gas back on to give us a false sense of security, then turn it off again at the beginning of winter when it gets cold and Europe needs the gas.”
The worst for the economy and for the mood of the population are strong fluctuations and a situation in which deliveries cannot be relied on. “And that’s exactly what Putin wants,” said Hüther.
The permanent state of alarm and the threat of a gas supply freeze that had been hanging around for weeks also played into Putin’s psychological hands, said Mazda Adli, one of the most renowned European stress researchers.
“There is little that stresses us more than when the future seems unpredictable and uncontrollable,” said the chief physician at the Fliedner Clinic Berlin to WELT AM SONNTAG. “But that’s exactly what Putin achieves with his back and forth.”
After the end of the scheduled maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, gas flowed through the pipeline again on Thursday. However, the volume of gas delivered remained well below the possible capacity of the pipeline, although according to the federal government there are no technical reasons for the reduced delivery volume. In this context, Federal Economics Minister Habeck accused Russia of “blackmailing” Germany and Europe.
