Berlin's expectations for a positive shift in relations with Washington under President Joe Biden have not materialized, as the new US administration is partly drifting toward the policy pursued by its predecessor, Armin-Paulus Hampel, the foreign policy spokesman for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) group in the German parliament, told Sputnik
ST.PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2021) Berlin's expectations for a positive shift in relations with Washington under President Joe Biden have not materialized, as the new US administration is partly drifting toward the policy pursued by its predecessor, Armin-Paulus Hampel, the foreign policy spokesman for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) group in the German parliament, told Sputnik.
A high-ranking German delegation left for the US this week to discuss the Nord Stream 2 project. The trip comes after the Biden administration decided to waive sanctions on the Russian-led pipeline for the sake of its relations with Berlin, the main beneficiary of the pipeline.
"I think that the understanding between the new US administration and Germany are not ... as comfortable as they were expected to be. In certain points, he [Biden] came back to Trump's policy," Hampel said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
The lawmaker recalled that Biden had pledged in his election campaign to try to revive the Iran nuclear deal and continue talks on the future of the Open Skies Treaty and the now-defunct Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
"Now he decided that he won't extend Open Skies and I am keen to see if he would renegotiate INF treaty. Merkel's administration now came to realize that it won't go so smoothly as we all expected and needs to outline its position to Washington," he continued.
Speaking further of the Open Skies Treaty and the INF, the AfD spokesman argued that Europe and Russia should renegotiate them directly if Washington doesn't want to be a part of them, pointing to the agreements' significance for both Russia and Western Europe.
"I [am] convinced that the German policy should return to pragmatism and we should return [to what] once was called by Bismarck 'real politic.' This can be fulfilled already in two important points this is INF and sanction policy, INF, for us, is so important, for Russia and Western Europe. If the American [side] does not want it, the EU needs to negotiate it with Russia. From the Atlantic Ocean to Vladivostok, we have a nuclear-free zone," the official added.
The INF treaty, concluded by Moscow and Washington in 1987, ceased to exist on August 2, 2019, after the United States formally suspended its obligations six months earlier, sparking security concerns in Europe. In addition, the Trump administration announced last year its unilateral withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, citing alleged violations by Russia and prompting Moscow to do the same.
SPIEF, Russia's annual flagman business event, has been held annually in St. Petersburg since 1997. This year, the forum is taking place in-person from June 2-5. Rossiya Segodnya is an official media partner of the forum.
