India, June 4 -- Russia's Kirill Dmitriev used the closing days of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday to broaden Moscow's pitch for Nord Stream revival well beyond its usual AfD audience, insisting that pragmatic voices across Germany's political establishment had already concluded that Russian gas must flow again.

"The sensible forces in Europe, in Germany, understand that the Nord Streams need to be restored," Dmitriev told reporters on the forum's sidelines, "and we are already hearing echoes of such ideas and proposals." The Russian Direct Investment Fund chief and presidential special envoy for economic cooperation made the remark on the fourth day of a forum that has drawn delegations and opposition legisl...