Merz's close associate wants to discuss Russian gas with Moscow

In Germany, a senior member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Conservative Party called on Sunday for talks with Moscow on a possible revival of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to supply Europe with Russian gas.

This project is "a possible opening for dialogue with Russia," argued Michael Kretschmer, head of the regional state of Saxony and member of the CDU party, in the online edition of the weekly "Die Zeit".

Maintaining the previous government's veto on the commissioning of this gas pipeline, Friedrich Merz had nevertheless declared in early May against any restart of Nord Stream 2, declaring that it "currently has no operating permit and that this will not change."

Transit routes for Russian gas to Europe, these pipelines connecting Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea have been abandoned since unexplained explosions in September 2022, a few months after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Both pipelines of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, in operation since 2011, were destroyed, while one pipe of the second pair, Nord Stream 2 (NS 2), appears intact. NS2, completed in 2021, never obtained the necessary operating permit to begin transporting gas, given the rise in tensions with Russia, which is accused of using gas deliveries to exert pressure on Europe and Ukraine.

According to Michael Kretschmer, "either we try, as has been the case so far, to force Russia, or we try a positive approach." He added that this pipeline could also be a way to combat high energy costs, which have weighed on the German economy, particularly since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He admitted, however, that, for the time being, most other German politicians were not ready to change their strategy. (afp/ftr)