few months,” he told journalists, adding that in that case, private investors would refuse to further participate in such projects. What other arguments did he submit? Altmaier accused Nord Stream 2 critics of not answering as where gas flows would come from into Europe - if not from Russia - if the energy demand rose. Gas flowing via Nord Stream 2 will reach Germany and other EU nations, Altmaier added. For him it looks like an argument in favor of the project in what is particularly fearsome for countries like Poland. They are fearful of Germany becoming a hub for Russian gas commodities, thus flooding neighboring nations with energy flows. Also, the heads of Germany’s eastern regions are lobbying for Nord Stream 2, presenting their common stance on the gas
link at the September 18 conference (Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia). Manuela Schwesig, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s State Premier, is campaigning most actively to complete the gas link. What might seem is that Germany’s Christian Democrats, notably regional leaders, are most keen to see the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Among Russia’s German allies are also parties like the AFD and Die Linke. In the whole spat over Nord Stream 2, its proponents focus on the pipeline’s benefits to the German economy. What plays its role here are aggressive lobbying activities, notably from the German Eastern Business Association (Ost-Ausschuss).
30 September 2020
RUSSIAN MILITARY DRILLS ON THE KURIL ISLANDS, JAPAN’S NEW PRIME MINISTER A new Japanese prime minister is unlikely to push Tokyo and Moscow closer to a peace treaty. Before Shinzo Abe sought to normalize relations with Russia in a failed attempt, notably amidst the Kremlin’s tenacity. But Japan’s new prime minister will certainly not be eager to make similar concessions like his predecessor and Russia seems to be aware of this. It is difficult to otherwise explain the kickoff of the Russian military exercise on the disputed Kuril Islands shortly before Putin’s first-ever talk with Yoshihide Suga.
J
apan’s new prime minister told Putin on September 29 that he wanted to settle the two’s dispute over the islands in the Pacific. Both leaders agreed to meet sometime soon. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Suga
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reportedly said, “I would like to put an end to the issue without leaving it to the next generation.” There are four islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Kurils in Russia. Japan upheld its stance of retrieving four
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