Former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has described Germany’s misunderstanding of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions as one of the greatest failures in the country’s foreign policy. Speaking before a parliamentary inquiry into potential Russian influence over a German foundation connected to the Nord Stream gas pipeline, Gabriel admitted that Berlin’s assessment of Moscow had been deeply flawed.

Gabriel, who served as economy and later foreign minister under Angela Merkel between 2013 and 2018, appeared before the committee investigating whether Russia had exerted control over a foundation established in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the Nord Stream pipelines terminate. Although he denied that the federal government maintained close coordination with the foundation, he acknowledged that serious errors had been made in dealing with Russia.

“The misjudgment of Putin and his intentions is one of the biggest mistakes in German foreign policy that I have been involved in,” Gabriel said, calling it a “bitter realization.” The inquiry in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern seeks to determine if Moscow influenced the management of the state-backed foundation that helped ensure the completion of Nord Stream 2 in 2021, even as the United States threatened sanctions on companies participating in the project.

The Nord Stream pipelines were designed to deliver Russian natural gas across the Baltic Sea directly to Western Europe through Germany. Construction of the first pipeline began in 2011, but work on Nord Stream 2 continued even after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Gabriel, who also led the Social Democratic Party for several years, defended the government’s decision at the time to continue the project, arguing that halting it might have worsened tensions and undermined diplomatic negotiations.

He emphasized that the primary goal had been to secure reliable gas supplies for Germany, noting that energy had become largely a private sector issue following market liberalization. However, Nord Stream 2 never went into operation due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In the same year, Moscow also stopped gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 in response to Western sanctions imposed over the war.

Both pipelines were later destroyed in underwater explosions in September 2022. Investigators suspect a group of Ukrainians may have been responsible for the sabotage. The parliamentary committee is continuing its work, with former Chancellor Olaf Scholz expected to testify on November 21. The commission’s findings are scheduled to be published next year.