AfD leaders prepare talks with Putin envoy over restoring Russian gas to Germany

Senior figures from Germany’s AfD are preparing possible talks with a senior adviser to Vladimir Putin over restoring Russian gas supplies to Germany.

Reuters reports that Putin investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev and AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla could meet as early as March 2027.

The discussions would focus on resuming Russian gas supplies, potentially including the reopening of the Nord Stream pipelines.

Sources told Reuters that any meeting would depend on a framework for peace between Russia and Ukraine being reached first.

Russian gas back on the agenda

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany obtained more than half of its natural gas from Russia.

That relationship was dramatically reduced following the invasion, European sanctions and the disruption of the Nord Stream pipelines.

The AfD has repeatedly argued that access to cheap Russian energy helped underpin Germany’s industrial competitiveness and supports restoring economic relations with Moscow.

The party is not currently in government, meaning talks between its leadership and Dmitriev would not themselves change German energy or sanctions policy.

Their political significance could nevertheless be substantial.

Reuters describes the AfD as Germany’s most popular party with voters, giving its position on Russian energy greater weight in the country’s longer-term political debate.

Germany has spent heavily replacing Russian pipeline gas with alternative supplies, including liquefied natural gas, while businesses have faced higher energy costs.

A return to Russian gas would reopen the argument that dominated German energy policy after the invasion: whether the economic benefits of cheaper pipeline supplies justify renewed dependence on Moscow.

For now, the proposed discussions remain preliminary and conditional on developments in Ukraine.

But after years spent reducing Germany’s reliance on Russian energy, one of the country’s largest political forces is preparing to put restoring it back on the table.

Sources

• Reuters – AfD and Putin envoy prepare talks over restoring Russian gas to Germany