Nord Stream 2. Germany rejects the proposal to buy a gas pipeline by American investor Stephen Lynch

Lynch tried to convince him to convince him at a meeting at the German Ministry of Economy on May 6, i.e. on the day of the inauguration of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. According to the weekly “Die Zeit”, who wrote more about this meeting, it took place at the invitation of the ministry, because officials from Berlin wanted to learn more about the businessman's proposal.

After the meeting, no official messages were issued, but – as the New York Times writes – Lynch claims that representatives of the authorities German They retained skepticism towards his ideawhich, in addition to buying a gas pipeline, also assumes its repair. At the same time, he expressed the belief that “European leaders would eventually change their minds”, although “no gas will flow before reaching peace (in Ukraine – ed.)”.

As agreed, the “Die Zeit” assessment of the Security of the Ministry of Economy of the West Germany indicates that the launch Nord Stream 2 It would threaten the “security of gas supply in Germany and the European Union”. This view is shared by Merz.

The Chancellor is in Washington on Thursday and if the topic is raised by the American side, he is to tell her that he is consistently against the launch of the gas pipeline. Last week, Merz said that the Germans would do “everything in their power” so that the project “would not become operational again”.

In the parliamentary fractions co -managing the CDU in Germany and SPD However, there are politicians looking at the gas pipeline with greater favor. Recently, the words of the Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer from CDU, who in the conversation with “Die zeit” published on May 25, talked about “too high production costs” and appealed to talks with Moscow about the resumption of the gas pipeline recently echoing.

Meanwhile, in the White House – as he wrote, among others Portal Politico – a discussion is underway about the abolition of sanctions imposed on Russian energy, including Nord Stream 2. A supporter of this approach is to be the envoy and friend of the US President Donald Trump Steve Witkoff. On the other side is the camp of the Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is working on tightening sanctions against the Russian energy sector.

Last year, Lynch unsuccessfully applied with the administration of Trump's predecessor, Joe Bidenfor a license to negotiate the purchase of Nord Stream 2. He renewed his efforts after the inauguration of the presidential Donald Trump, in February he submitted a new application for a license in the treasury department. In 2024 – in accordance with the data of the Federal Electoral Commission – Lynch donated 700 thousand. dollars for the campaign of a republican candidate.

He spent two decades of life in Moscow from New York, but living in Miami Lynch. In 2022, he obtained a license from the US finance ministry for the purchase of the Swiss part of Sbierbank, which was sanked by United States. According to the information “WSJ”, Lynch declared to his friends that he was able to take over the “pennies” Nord Stream 2, valued at $ 11 billion.

In 2007, a civil lawsuit was filed against Lynch and several other investors in the London court for participating in the set auction, during which they purchased the shares of the Russian fuel giant JUKOS. The court rejected the allegations and reported that during the proceedings Lynch and other investors were “honest” and cooperated.

According to the British newspaper “Financial Times”, the originator of work on the resumption of the functioning of the gas pipeline is Matthias Warnig, a former officer of Stasi during the GDR and Putin's friend, who until 2023 managed Nord Stream 2 AG. Important representatives of the US authorities know about this initiative and perceive it as part of the reconstruction of relations with Moscow.