Petzold spoke with Sputnik on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum, almost two weeks after the Bundestag election in Germany opened the way for a three-way coalition government, with either conservatives or Social Democrats at the helm.
"With the current challenges like the pandemic or climate change, for example, which are affecting everyone, including Russia and Germany, we can only manage this together and it is not wise to go back to nationalism and confrontation," he said.
The new German cabinet looks likely to include the Greens, whose co-leader has been outspokenly critical about Russia and Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas.
"I think at the end after the elections, leaving the politics aside, we need to come to a reality and I hope that a future government in Germany will realize and address all challenges, including on the international level, with common sense in mind," Petzold said.