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Bundestag deputy says Germany’s decision to stop buying Russian gas was wrong

Klaus Ernst specified that the rejection of Russian resources "has now led to enormous economic difficulties," resulting in "a recession"

© Lev Fedoseyev/TASS

BERLIN, February 9. /TASS/. The decision to stop gas purchases from Russia "was wrong," it would be in Germany’s interests to resume cooperation in this area, Bundestag deputy from the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht party Klaus Ernst told TASS.

"I would be glad if we started buying Russian natural gas again. This would increase demand, in addition, gas from the Russian Federation is much cheaper than American LNG," he said responding to a relevant question from a TASS correspondent.

"But I don’t know if this will happen again, because our government is taking an ideological approach and does not take German interests into account. It would be in Germany's interests to buy Russian natural gas again," Ernst added.

The rejection of Russian resources "has now led to enormous economic difficulties. We are in a recession, while the Russian economy is growing. That’s a fact," the deputy stated.

Ernst was previously a member of the Left Party, but switched to another political force, which has not a faction but a parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Since then, the politician has lost his post as Chairman of the energy committee.

In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that survived the sabotage in the Baltic Sea could supply gas to Europe, "but Germany does not open it."

The certification process for Nord Stream 2, which is required to start pumping gas to Germany, was stopped in the fall of 2021 and has not been resumed since then.

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