Criticism of Schwesig's strange relations with Russia - Greens demand clarification

Created: 04/19/2022, 14:03

By: Linus Prien

Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig © IMAGO/Bernd Elmenthaler

Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has been sharply criticized for her close ties to Russia.

Greens are now calling for clarification.

Berlin – Green politicians are calling for the role of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig to be reappraised in connection with the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline be,” said the federal chairman of the Greens, Omid Nouripour, the

.

Schwesig's previous statements are not enough.

"A "Oops, it was probably a mistake" won't do."

Hofreiter demands clarification of Schwesig's relations with Russia

The chairman of the Europe Committee in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter, also called for a strict investigation.

"How the government in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania became the henchman of Nord Stream 2 in order to promote the construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline urgently needs to be clarified," the Greens politician told the newspaper.

The entire "failed German Russia policy" must be worked through - including the role of the CDU, he said.

Union foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen called on Schwesig to resign if the facts described in the media were correct.

Relations with Russia: SPD accuses the CDU of being mendacious

The spokesman for the East regional group of the SPD parliamentary group, Frank Junge, accused the CDU of mendacity.

"If you consider that Chancellor Merkel has shaped our country's foreign policy towards Russia over the last 16 years and if you take note that in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the coalition of SPD and CDU supported the location of Nord Stream 2 and who initiated the establishment of the climate foundation together from the outset, then calls for resignation from the ranks of the CDU towards Manuela Schwesig come as a great surprise," Junge told the

.

The allegations sounded not only far-fetched, but also mendacious.

Relations with Russia: SPD mandate holders admit mistakes

At the beginning of 2021, a climate foundation was set up in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to help complete the pipeline despite American threats of sanctions.

According to recently published documents, Nord Stream 2 AG, with the Russian state-owned company Gazprom as the majority shareholder, was directly involved in the preparations for the foundation.

The SPD's state interior minister, Christianpegel, admitted that as energy minister at the time, he was in regular contact with Nord Stream 2 while working on the statutes and incorporated the company's wishes.

Schwesig also admitted that there were talks, but rejected reports that Nord Stream 2 had been in charge of founding the foundation.

"We made our own decisions in the state government and in the state parliament and nobody else."