Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leader Tino Chrupalla (not pictured) in Moscow on Dec 8, 2020. (HANDOUT / RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for a reboot of dialogue between Moscow and Berlin on Tuesday, despite the case of the alleged poisoning of a Russian opposition politician.

US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said last week the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is detrimental to the safety and sovereignty of Europe, and also "solidifies Russia's dominance over Europe's natural gas markets"

Lavrov made the remarks during a meeting with Tino Chrupalla, deputy leader of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany, or AfD, the largest opposition group in Germany's federal parliament.

"Your arrival in Russia is a very good opportunity to continue such a dialogue and look for additional contact points. We hold in high regard your contribution to the maintenance of our relations, which need reconsideration and, maybe, what is called a reboot these days," he said.

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Germany, at a meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, last week, criticized Russia over the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Moscow in turn accused Berlin of a "mass disinformation campaign "concerning Navalny during the meeting.

The German delegation to the OPCW called for "the Russian Federation to fully cooperate with the OPCW and to disclose the circumstances of the chemical weapons attack against a Russian citizen on Russian territory".

In response, the Russian delegation said in a statement: "Germany and its allies resorted to megaphone diplomacy, unleashed a mass disinformation campaign against Russia and started to demand some 'independent international investigation 'under the auspices of the OPCW".

Lavrov said: "A lot of serious problems that keep multiplying have accumulated between the Russian and German governments."

Dialogue at all levels

He added that dialogue at all levels, including intergovernmental, interparliamentary and intersocietal, is important for the two countries at the moment.

The visit of the AfD deputy leader to Russia has aroused controversy in Germany, and the government attempted to hinder the visit, according to Lavrov.

Chrupalla criticized the European Union's sanctions on Russia over the Navalny case, saying his party was worried about the state of German-Russian relations.

Chrupalla, who was accompanied by the party's spokesman on foreign affairs, Armin-Paul Hampel, also called for completion of the Russian-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

The project has been vigorously opposed not only by Washington but also by a number of central and eastern European countries who feel it will impact their revenue through transit fees and strengthen Russian influence in Europe.

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US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said last week the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is detrimental to the safety and sovereignty of Europe, and also "solidifies Russia's dominance over Europe's natural gas markets".

The US embassy in Berlin has appealed to the authorities of Germany and the EU to impose a moratorium on work to complete the construction of the gas pipeline.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded that the US accusations were acts of political aggression.