"If one day a just and safe peace with Ukraine is established, we can also discuss buying Russian gas again. Not dependent as before, nor willing to impose prices, but Russia is just one of many suppliers in the world" - Jan Heinisch, a politics leader of the Conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a negotiator in the party's federal coalition negotiations with the center-left Social Democratic Party, shared with Politico.
Jan Heinisch was part of the energy and climate working group for the alliance talks, which was tasked with shaping energy policy for the German government led by CDU under future Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Jan Heinisch's comments were made after a recent post on LinkedIn by CDU politician Thomas Bareiß - a negotiator on infrastructure policy for the newly formed alliance - who believes that Europe can finally return to using Russian gas via the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Germany and Russia.
"Looking at the next few years, some surprises may happen. When peace returns, the gunfighting between Russia and Ukraine is subdued, relations will be binhlized, sanctions will be lifted and gas may start flowing again, who knows, this time it will be through the US-controlled gas pipeline" - Mr. Thomas Bareiß said.
Mr. Bareiß argued that based on the reality of the energy market, gas transported via pipeline from Russia will still be more affordable and climate-friendly than liquefied natural gas. He also highlighted the report on the interest of US investors in restoring Nord Stream 2. The pipeline was sabotaged in 2022.
However, Politico notes that any revival of Russian gas flows, especially through Nord Stream 2, could spark tensions with Germany's Eastern European allies. Long before the sabotage, Poland, Baltic states and Ukraine strongly opposed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, saying it increased Europe's dependence on Russian energy, affecting Ukraine's income and influence when ignoring its transit network.
