We had a long history of gas deliveries going back to the Cold War.
Russia had proved to be a reliable partner, and there had always been tensions with the Americans over this issue.
Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation, and Nord Stream 1 was later shut down. The gas was cheaper, so that was an economic factor.
If we had not done that, we would already have had to buy more expensive gas from 2014. Instead, we only had to do so in 2022.
Economic advantage, difficult suppliers, and no American gas—that made the decision to use Russian gas easier for me.
Germany's Merkel on Russia:
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