Commissioned by the German East Committee (OA), an interest group that urges Berlin to do more with the east of the continent, the survey showed that the majority (62%) of Germans want to improve the country’s relations with Russia.

“If it were up to the will of the German population, EU-Russia relations would be significantly expanded in many areas” OA chairman Oliver Hermes said people value collaboration and closer relationships, especially in the business and energy sectors.

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Hermes also noted that Germans want to see you “Common European Economic Area including Russia” This includes completing the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project and opening the country to the Moscow-made Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V.

The survey was published on Wednesday, the same day that the northern German region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania organized the “Russia Day”. The state, which is also called Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in English, was part of the former GDR and is closely connected to Moscow through Nord Stream 2. After completion of the pipeline, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will receive gas from the Russian region of Leningrad.

Despite close cooperation in the energy sector and Berlin’s willingness to defy the US to work with Moscow to achieve its economic goals, relations between Germany and Russia are not all positive.

In August last year, the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was flown to Berlin’s Charité after suffering from flying sickness. German doctors later announced that Navalny had been poisoned with the neurotoxin Novichok and contradicted doctors in Omsk, where he was first treated.

The two countries have also argued over claims that Russia is behind cyberattacks on German lawmakers, and most recently on air traffic routes.

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