German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is said to have lost his temper with famous German writer Marko Martin because the latter criticized the President's role in the Nord Stream gas pipeline, German newspaper Bild reported.
On November 8, Bild newspaper reported that the incident occurred after Marko Martin criticized veteran politician Frank-Walter Steinmeier for approving Nord Stream projects during his time as German Foreign Minister.
The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were built under the Baltic Sea to transport Russian gas directly to Germany. Both were destroyed by underwater explosions in September 2022.
Prior to the explosions, senior US officials, including President Joe Biden, had repeatedly criticized the project.
Bild newspaper quoted writer Martin as saying that he was invited to speak at an event at Bellevue Palace in Berlin. Writer Martin is said to have harshly criticized current and former senior officials of the German Social Democratic Party, including President Steinmeier.
According to Bild, Martin criticized them for pushing for closer ties with Russia before the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022.
Martin is said to have argued that the German government's involvement in Nord Stream may have encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch a military campaign against Ukraine.
Bild newspaper quoted witnesses as saying that President Steinmeier appeared very angry when listening to Martin's speech and had difficulty controlling his emotions.
Martin told Bild newspaper that "the president got angry and threw himself at me and repeatedly accused me of defaming him." According to the article, President Steinmeier eventually lost his temper, accusing Martin and other intellectuals of not knowing how difficult the job of a politician is.
The German president's spokesman confirmed to Bild that the "controversial" conversation had taken place, but said it was a "work-related conversation".
The Wall Street Journal, followed by several other US and German news outlets, claimed that a group of six Ukrainian divers on a small yacht planted explosive devices that ruptured the Nord Stream pipeline.
Russia dismissed the above hypothesis as unreasonable. President Putin argued that the Nord Stream sabotage was carried out by professionals backed by “the full might of the state” and that the US “might” be behind the incident.
In September, Russia's SVR foreign intelligence agency also criticized the US and UK, accusing them of "promoting media information that the attack was carried out solely by Ukrainian extremists".
