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FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai
Photo: Michael Kappeler / picture alliance / dpa
With the proposal to open the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki has made himself unpopular with many in his party.
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai told SPIEGEL: »Not to put Nord Stream 2 into operation was and is right.
We Free Democrats are counting on new trade partnerships, LNG terminals and an extension of the lifespan of the three remaining nuclear power plants so that our country can get through the winter in good shape".
Russia uses energy policy as a weapon, projects like Nord Stream 2 have "brought Germany into a dangerous dependency that is now causing this difficult situation".
The Secretary General also referred to the foreign policy dimensions that would be affected by the commissioning of Nord Stream 2: "The great unity within the EU and NATO against Putin's war must not be jeopardized, because it ultimately also serves our own security."
FDP politician Konstantin Kuhle wrote on Twitter: “Anyone who opens Nord Stream 2 now does not need to face our neighbors and allies in Poland or the Baltic States for decades – not to mention Ukraine or our self-esteem.”
FDP politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff also criticized Kubicki's assessment as wrong.
FDP party vice president Johannes Vogel echoed the criticism on Twitter: “To respond to the blackmail of an aggressor continues to deliver one at will and only weakens Europe’s position.
But Europe needs to stand together right now.
That's why we Free Democrats have been rejecting Nord Stream II for a long time - more relevant than ever."
Young liberals sharply criticize Kubicki for Nord Stream 2
The FDP youth organization Junge Liberale (July) also reacted with sharp rejection to the demand.
"It is completely incomprehensible to me how one can come up with such a bizarre demand," said the federal chairman of the Julis, Franziska Brandmann, of the dpa news agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is waging an energy war against Germany, said Brandmann, who is also a member of the FDP federal executive board.
»Anyone who thinks in this situation that they want to lift the sanctions imposed on Russia is making a deeply illogical argument.
It is precisely this kind of naivety towards Russia that has brought us into this precarious position of being massively dependent on Russia for energy.«
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Kubicki had told the editorial network Germany (RND/Friday) that there was “no reasonable reason not to open Nord Stream 2” and also pointed out that the federal government had to avert damage to Germany.
Brandmann said the Russian army had murdered countless people in Ukraine since February 24, raped thousands of women and abducted children.
Brandmann: »The Russian regime is committing war crimes non-stop, many certainly still have the images of the Butscha massacre in their minds.
If you don't see this as a reasonable reason for sanctions, I strongly recommend that you question your moral compass.«
Kubicki's demand can in no way be reconciled with the decision of the FDP.
Brandmann: "We expect Wolfgang Kubicki, as the deputy federal chairman of the FDP, to respect this in the future and to leave energy and foreign policy odysseys to those who understand Putin."
mfh/dpa
