German ruling party figure urges Nord Stream talks with Russia

BERLIN

A senior member of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party called Sunday for talks with Russia over a possible relaunch of the controversial Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Michael Kretschmer, state premier of the eastern region of Saxony, described the pipeline as "a possible opening for a conversation with Russia".

Earlier this month Merz spoke out against reported U.S.-Russian plans to relaunch Nord Stream 2, saying the project "currently has no operating licence, and this is not expected to change".

There have been reports that U.S. and Russian envoys are discussing a relaunch of the pipeline, this time with the involvement of American investors.

Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021 but never went into operation as Germany scrapped the project after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Kretschmer has previously advocated a softer line towards Moscow.

He argued on Sunday that talking to Russia over Nord Stream could be "a positive approach" as opposed to "attempting to force Russia, as has been the case so far.

"It's not for nothing that something similar was being discussed among diplomats in Brussels a few months ago," he told the Zeit newspaper.

"As long as we keep saying: 'We don't want anything, we don't want any gas imports, we're only applying sanctions', there's no reason to talk to us," said Kretschmer.

The pipeline could also be a way of combatting the high energy costs which have hit the German economy, particularly since the start of Russia's invasion.

However, he admitted that for the moment there was "no readiness for a change of strategy" among most other German politicians.