One of the the connections to Russia that kept giving diplomacy a base is, that Russia always was a reliable supplier with gas, as was the Sovjet Union even dur

One of the the connections to Russia that kept giving diplomacy a base is, that Russia always was a reliable supplier with gas, as was the Sovjet Union even during the cold war. Equally, Europe is a good customer. Fundamentally such trade is good for both sides. Nord Stream 2 was strictly speaking never needed, a lot consider it rather a strategy of Russia to be able to cut off Ukraine without severing their trade with Germany. As a consequence, a lot of people in Germany considered North Stream 2 a strategic mistake. Putin already was playing with the gas supply as the signed contracts were fulfilled, but no extra gas was offered, even if Russia could have made some nice profits, unless North Stream 2 became operational. Cutting gas below the existing contracts would be a whole different step of escalation.