After the sudden leakage of the "Beixi" natural gas pipeline, it quickly attracted widespread attention from international public opinion. The latest update is that the Swedish Coast Guard has discovered a new leak, which has brought the total number of leaks to four.
According to Denmark, more than half of the natural gas in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines has leaked and could all leak this week, totaling about 778 million cubic meters.
According to the Danish side, the investigation and maintenance work can only be carried out after all the natural gas in the pipeline has been leaked.
But German media warned that if the damage could not be repaired before seawater entered the pipe and caused corrosion, the pipeline may "never be usable."
At the crucial moment, the retired Merkel spoke out very rarely.
On September 27, local time, Merkel attended the opening ceremony of the Helmut Kohl Foundation in Berlin, during which she said that Putin's recent statement should not be ignored and must be taken seriously.
Merkel cautioned the West not to think that Putin's speech was bluffing, while stressing that it was by no means weakness or appeasement, but rather a political wisdom that would help preserve room for maneuver and perhaps even help create a new one.
Merkel's reference to "Putin's speech" refers to the latter's national televised speech on the situation in Russia and Ukraine last week.
In his speech, Putin announced "partial mobilization" and warned the West in extremely harsh terms that if Russia's territorial integrity is threatened, the Russian government will take "all means", including the use of nuclear weapons to protect its country and people.
The speech was Putin's first national speech on the situation since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but Western countries did not seem to take Putin's warnings too seriously. Zelenskiy has even publicly stated that he does not believe Putin will order the use of nuclear weapons.
In her 16 years in office, Merkel has visited Russia 20 times and met with Putin dozens of times internationally. During the 2014 Ukraine crisis, Merkel had more than 30 phone calls with Putin alone.
Of all the surviving European leaders, there is probably no one who knows Putin better than Merkel, so she knows very well that Putin is not bluffing.
One of Putin's most distinctive personal characteristics is that he rarely speaks empty words.
During the Second Chechen War, Putin said: "We will go all out to pursue terrorists, catch them at the airport and kill them at the airport, and drown in the toilet if they are caught." Forgiving them is God's business, and our task is to send them to God. ”
Whether these terrorists ended up drowning in the toilet is unknown, but they were all sent to God.
Merkel is very clear that since Putin has shown "nuclear deterrence", she has the courage and courage to turn it into reality. And once this deterrence is cashed in as a reality, it will be a disaster for the whole of Europe, and by then, it will be too late to regret it.
In addition to reminding the West to take Putin's speech seriously, Merkel also made assumptions about how former German Chancellor Mikhail Kohl would handle the Ukraine crisis if he were still alive.
Kohl was the first chancellor of Germany after its reunification and is considered one of the most influential leaders in Europe in the late last century. In addition, he is Merkel's political guide.
Merkel said Kohl would make every effort to preserve and restore Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also considering the future, that is, how to redevelop relations with Russia.
This is Merkel's political wisdom.
As a disciple of Cole, Merkel handled the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the same way, but with this assumption, a lot of strife could be avoided.
So, on Ukraine, Merkel's attitude is clear: Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be protected, but Putin's warnings must also be taken seriously. Because Russia is part of Europe, this cannot be changed, and it is impossible to erase Russia from the world map, and the relationship between Europe and Russia must be maintained.
Finally, let's take a few personal thoughts.
The "Nord Stream" natural gas pipeline was out on the evening of the 26th, and Merkel's voice was on the 27th, and the time point was very delicate.
As we all know, the Nord Stream pipeline is one of Merkel's major achievements during her tenure, and any politician will not feel good when he sees his political legacy under attack. The "Nord Stream" pipeline leakage accident is obviously related to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Since leaving office last year, Merkel has lived a reclusive retirement and rarely appears in public.
Even when the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out, Merkel remained silent for a long time, only making simple statements based on Western "political correctness" twice.
And Merkel's statement is of great significance – it is the first time that she has put forward constructive suggestions after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has lasted for more than 7 months. It remains to be seen whether her opinion can be adopted by the West.
According to Merkel, the West should not only focus on the present but also consider the future when dealing with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but throughout Europe, there are very few leaders with such capabilities.