Former German Foreign Minister and former Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who was responsible for promoting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, admitted his mistakes - for example, that Germany did not listen to Eastern Europeans.

Gabriel said this in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt.

Gabriel has long defended the pipeline. In 2015, he said: "Nord Stream 2 is in Germany's interest, I agree with the chancellor. In terms of European sovereignty, the U.S. is not concerned."

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Gabriel has a very different view of Nord Stream 2.

"It was a mistake not to listen to Eastern Europeans when they objected to Nord Stream 2. That was my mistake as well," Siegmar Gabriel said.

At the same time, he noted that it is wrong to put the sole responsibility for the strong energy dependence of Germany on Russian natural gas on the Social Democratic Party of Germany and its policy.

Gabriel attributed the decision to continue expanding relations with Russia after the annexation of Crimea to hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine at the time.

"It should probably be recognized that the 2014 cease-fire negotiations would have been very difficult if Nord Stream 2 had been stopped at the same time," he added.

Recall that on February 22, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to stop the certification of Nord Stream-2 due to the worsening Russian crisis.