Insisting on the creation of Nord Stream 2, Germany has gained a reputation as a country blind to Russian aggression or too enamoured with the possibility of making a lucrative deal, writes “Sueddeutsche Zeitung”. The daily won a legal battle and gained access to confidential documents. It writes of a “chronicle of a historic mistake”.

“Sueddeutsche Zeitung” recalls that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government consistently maintained that the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was a “private business venture.” However, previously confidential documents—revealed by the newspaper—indicate how heavily the authorities were involved in the pipeline’s construction and how closely they cooperated with the company responsible for it.