At a press conference held on April 22, German Chancellor Scholz announced his intention to halt the approval process for a new German-Russian natural gas pipeline (Nord Stream 2). He is effectively imposing sanctions in response to Russia's decision to recognize the militant-controlled region in eastern Ukraine as an independent state and to deploy troops there. This is a strong warning against Russia's attempts to change the status quo by force.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun