The leaders of the G7 nations will meet at the group's 47th summit in the British region of Cornwall from Friday to Sunday. The event will be followed by a NATO get-together and a Russia-US summit, during which Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden are expected to discuss the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Ukraine, and arms control, among other issues.
"As for the issues of Russia and China, the United States is in coordination with the G7, NATO, and the EU. In recent weeks, the Biden administration has demonstrated that Washington is ready to soften its position on Russia. This also applies to new sanctions against Nord Stream 2. Germany's interests in this matter were taken seriously by the Biden administration; on the other hand, the scandal around the US spying, with the help of Denmark, on Germany, France, and other EU countries, has influenced the Biden administration's position [on Russia]", said Friesen of the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
This past Sunday, the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung reported that the NSA, with the help of Denmark, spied on a number of European politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2012 to 2014. On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the scandal had not affected Denmark's credibility, stressing that Copenhagen is a valuable ally that has made a significant contribution to the alliance.
The AfD lawmaker added that Germany and the EU are "interested in [potential] agreements between Biden and Putin", primarily in security and disarmament issues, since "they [the EU] are geopolitically located in a region where any confrontation between the US and Russia will have the most negative consequences".
In an effort to demonstrate goodwill to its European allies, Washington has also toned down its rhetoric with China, according to Friesen.
