Saxony Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer has sparked controversy in Germany, calling on Berlin to consider the possibility of buying back energy from Russia immediately after the end of the Ukrainian conflict. Speaking to the Funke media group, he emphasized: We must put our interests first. When a ceasefire is achieved, Germany should consider connecting supplies from Russia.
According to Mr. Kretschmer, Russia must return to being a German trade partner in the future, but Berlin needs to avoid repeating the dependence as before 2022. He said that good economic relations even help "strengthen national security".
As a member of Prime Minister Friedrich Merz's CDU, Mr. Kretschmer has repeatedly expressed his support for resuming Russian gas imports after the Ukrainian conflict. This has led to criticism within the party, especially as the EU has maintained extensive sanctions on Russia in the fourth winter of the conflict.
On the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin continued to describe the sanctions as an economic war, while emphasizing that it was Europe that "sore the most obvious damage" when cutting off Russian energy sources.
Prime Minister Kretschmer said Germany must review sanctions from a national economic perspective, as current energy policies are dragging Germany to the brink of losing its industrial base.
Not only Prime Minister Kretschmer, the debate was further pushed by the speech of lawmaker Steffen Conte (afD). Responding to RIA Novosti, Mr. Conte said that Germany and Russia can completely resume energy cooperation within the next 10 years.
Mr. Conte strongly criticized the information that Berlin may sell the Nord Stream 2 project to US investor Stephen Lynch, calling it "a sign of an unreasonable policy that is causing Europe, especially Germany, to suffer".
According to him, despite declaring to have given up Russian energy, in reality, Berlin still buys gas through intermediary countries at much higher prices. Therefore, the project restoration with Russia does not encounter any technical obstacles, but is only entangled with the political will of the German government.
When asked about the negotiations between German and US businesses regarding Nord Stream 2, Conte said he had no information, but insists that including a third party rather than self-respect is an unusual choice.
Stephen Lynch - a US investor who attracted attention with his intention to buy back the Nord Stream 2 pipeline system - believes that Europe will eventually have to return to Russian gas. According to the New York Times, he tried to convince senior German officials in May of his bold plan.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak affirmed that Moscow has not received any proposal to buy back the pipeline.
The consecutive statements of Mr. Kretschmer and Conte show that the debate on the future of Germany - Russia's energy has returned, despite Berlin's efforts to diversify supply. In the context of high energy prices and difficulties in German industry, the possibility of Germany resuming Russian gas imports after the Ukrainian conflict is gradually becoming a big question that Berlin's policy is unlikely to avoid.
