The State Duma appreciated Merz's statement about Nord Stream 2

The restoration of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be a breath of fresh air for Germany, but the German leadership continues to destroy its economy in a mad mania. This was stated by Igor Ananskikh, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, in an interview with Izvestia on May 28.

On this day, at a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that his government would do everything to prevent the commissioning of Nord Stream 2. His words are quoted by the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

Ananskikh recalled that today the Nord Stream and Nord Stream–2 gas pipelines are not working due to competitors of Russian gas in the West. According to the MP, Europe, not Russia, suffered the most from the suspension of operation, since Nord Streams was owned by a consortium of the largest electric companies.

"All of them are now at a loss, and for several years gas has not been supplied to Europe via Nord Streams. Thanks to cheap Russian gas, Germany and Europe have been increasing their economic power for almost 50 years. Now we see that without cheap Russian energy resources, the economy is collapsing," Ananskikh said.

He noted that in Germany, since the accident on the gas pipelines, a huge number of energy-intensive enterprises have been closed. According to him, one of the branches of the Nord Streams can be deconservated in a short time, which will provide cheap pipeline gas for Europe.

"This is much cheaper than what Europe is currently buying from the United States. It will be at least some kind of breath of fresh air for the German economy. But the German leadership doesn't want to think about it. He does not think about his residents, who need cheap gas to heat their farms. They (the Germans. — Ed.) in some kind of insane mania, they are destroying and destroying their economy further," the deputy said.

Gas pass: Germany is considering the restoration of the Nord Streams

The United States is also showing interest in pipelines.

Ananskikh stressed that the United States, which sells liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, benefits from the halted Nord Streams. Also, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy expressed the hope that the commissioning of the Nord Streams would happen in the medium term.

"Until people who are interested in developing their country and improving the quality of their people come to the leadership of Germany, this will not happen. But I expect that, of course, not in the short term, but in the medium term, this will happen," he concluded.

On May 20, the head of EU diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, said that the energy sector would become the main component of the 18th package of sanctions against Russia being developed in the EU. Sanctions against Nord Streams are also being discussed as part of the restrictions.

On April 25, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev called the possible restoration of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream–2 pipelines a matter of the political will of the German and US authorities.