AfD Leaders Plan Talks With Putin Envoy on Russian Gas

The leadership of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s chief economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, have initiated preparations for high-level talks next year to discuss resuming Russian natural gas deliveries to Germany. According to Reuters, the preliminary arrangements for a meeting, potentially as early as March, underscore the deepening alignment between Moscow and the AfD. Although barred from federal governing coalitions by mainstream political parties, the anti-immigration, pro-Russian party currently polls as Germany’s most popular political organization nationwide.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. According to one source, the prospective meeting would bring together Dmitriev – a key confidant of Putin and chief executive of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) – alongside AfD federal co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. Prior to the imposition of sweeping Western sanctions following Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian supplied more than half of Germany’s natural gas consumption and over one-third of its crude oil imports, establishing deep industrial and commercial ties that Berlin has worked to unwind over the past four years. Prospective trilateral format and pre-conditions for talks The source noted that the bilateral gathering is contingent on a preliminary peace framework being agreed upon between Ukraine and Russia prior to the meeting. Other Topics of Interest Putin Claims Readiness to Restore Relations With Europe Vladimir Putin claims Russia is ready to restore ties with European neighbors, as European leaders warn that Moscow seeks diversionary escalation. Organizers envision expanding the initiative into a trilateral dialogue connecting the AfD, Russian leadership, and representatives from the US. Several neutral or non-Western locations have been evaluated as potential host venues for the summit, including the United Arab Emirates, India, and Israel. The diplomatic outreach reflects the AfD’s longstanding foreign policy platform, which demands an immediate cessation of German defense assistance to Ukraine, the removal of international economic sanctions against Moscow, and the swift restoration of bilateral energy transit across the Baltic Sea. Cross-party backlash and accusations of betrayal in Berlin Reports of the planned consultations triggered condemnations across Germany’s governing and opposition political establishment, with senior lawmakers from both the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Alliance 90/The Greens denouncing the move as an act of political betrayal. According to ntv, Michael Kellner, a prominent member of the Bundestag for the Greens, warned that re-establishing energy dependencies with Moscow would jeopardize the nation’s economic and democratic security. “Germany must not become dependent on Russia again,” Kellner told German news channel ntv. “We must not repeat the mistakes of the energy crisis. It cost us €50 billion. We must not seek to return to that. This would be a betrayal. Putin is using the AfD for his own purposes.” Senior CDU foreign policy lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter echoed the criticism, warning that reopening energy corridors would isolate Germany within NATO and the EU. “The AfD stands on Russia’s side and is ready to betray both Ukraine and Germany,” Kiesewetter stated. “Russia uses energy, including Nord Stream, as a hybrid weapon for military objectives. Resuming the operation of Nord Stream would be a disaster for European security and would lead to Germany’s isolation.” Kiesewetter added that such consultations also risk exerting pressure on specific domestic political factions within Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats that have quietly advocated for a pragmatic return to purchasing discounted Russian hydrocarbons. Merz’s defense commitments amid rising domestic populist pressure The controversy arrives amid acute domestic political friction following regional state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD achieved a historic triumph by capturing nearly 44% of the vote and falling just three seats short of an outright legislative majority. Speaking at an Arctic security summit in Rovaniemi, northern Finland, Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged that opposition to Berlin’s military and financial backing for Kyiv had become a primary electoral catalyst for AfD voters. However, the German leader reiterated that his administration will not alter its strategic commitments to Ukraine. Merz emphasized that a Russian victory in Ukraine would carry “unpredicted and unprecedented consequences for all of us, including Germany,” insisting that European democracies cannot divorce immediate security imperatives from domestic political turbulence. “That’s the reason why I’m standing here very firm, very clear, and not willing to go back one centimeter,” Merz stated, having previously ruled out any form of political cooperation or coalition agreements with the AfD at both regional and federal levels. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.