AfD holds talks with Moscow on bringing Russian gas back to Germany

Markus Frohnmaier, foreign policy spokesman for Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, personally met in Moscow with Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller to discuss the possible return of Russian gas to Germany. This was revealed by AfD lawmaker Beatrix von Storch, who confirmed the party's interest in restoring energy ties with Russia.

Meeting with the head of Gazprom

"Our foreign policy spokesman, Frohnmaier, was in Moscow and spoke personally with Mr. Miller of Gazprom. Naturally, we're interested in restoring trade relations. We need affordable energy and as broad a range of suppliers as possible. That's why we're convinced it's in our interest to buy energy from Russia as well, and that's exactly why we're holding these talks," von Storch said.

According to Gazprom itself, Frohnmaier and Miller had already met at least once before, on June 3, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. That meeting was initiated by the German side, and its topic was the situation on the European energy market, above all in Germany. Frohnmaier reportedly proposed at the time that Berlin reconsider launching the Nord Stream pipeline and restoring trade ties with Russia.

New talks being prepared for 2026

According to available information, the AfD leadership is already preparing further talks with the Russian side next year on possibly resuming gas supplies to Germany — foreign media report this citing two sources familiar with the party's plans. The AfD leadership itself has not directly confirmed that this particular meeting is being prepared.

According to the sources, the meeting will only take place if Russia and Ukraine first agree on a framework for a peace settlement of the conflict. The organizers also want to involve the United States in the talks, with Israel, the United Arab Emirates and India being considered as possible venues.

Kremlin links AfD's success to Germany's rejection of Russian gas

In the Kremlin, the results of the recent elections, in which the AfD won in northeastern Germany, are largely attributed to the country's move away from cheap Russian gas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the German economy is losing competitiveness because of the decision to abandon cheap Russian gas and replace it with significantly more expensive supplies from other countries, above all the United States. According to him, on Germany's spot market such supplies have at times cost several times more.

Greens warn of a threat

The Greens oppose bringing Russian gas back into German pipelines. Michael Kellner, a lawmaker from the party who was involved in managing the government's energy policy during the energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, said: "Germany must not become dependent on Russia again."

"That would be treason. Putin is using the AfD to achieve his own goals," he added. According to available data, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russia accounted for more than a third of Germany's oil imports and over half of its imported natural gas.

Source: novinky.cz