AfD Proposes Abu Dhabi Talks With U.S. and Russia, Excluding Ukraine

Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) says it wants to organize a summit with the United States and Russia on ending the war in Ukraine, and it does not plan to invite Ukraine. Le Monde reported that the party has named Abu Dhabi as the venue and spring 2027 as the tentative timing.

The plan comes from a party that leads national polls, but the contacts it claims with Washington and Moscow are its own account and have not been independently confirmed in the reports. Here are the main questions the story raises.

What exactly is the AfD proposing?

Markus Frohnmaier, deputy chair of the AfD group in the Bundestag and a member of its Foreign Affairs Committee, told Le Monde the party wants a meeting of Germany, the United States and Russia. Ukraine would not take part. According to Frohnmaier, the party has picked Abu Dhabi and spring of next year as the tentative time frame.

Reports differ on the venue. EADaily, also citing Le Monde, wrote that the location of the summit has not been specified. It added that Frohnmaier described the meeting as a possible platform to discuss economic and energy cooperation, including restoring the Nord Stream pipelines.

What contacts does the AfD say it has?

The party says it has ties to the U.S. State Department and to advisers to President Donald Trump. It also says it is in touch with Russia's Foreign Ministry, the Russian presidential administration and relevant intelligence services, according to Le Monde as relayed by RBC-Ukraine and UA.News.

Frohnmaier said Kirill Dmitriev is coordinating preparations for the summit with the American side. Dmitriev is a Russian banker close to President Vladimir Putin and is involved in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

What has the Russian side said?

On Oct. 22, speaking in Istanbul, Dmitriev said he planned to meet AfD representatives in December. He also mentioned a forum tentatively set for the second quarter of 2027. He did not say what the purpose of the meeting would be or where it would take place, according to the reports.

EADaily described the December encounter as a preliminary meeting between Russian representatives and the AfD ahead of the summit itself.

What else does the AfD want?

EADaily cited a passage from Le Monde, as quoted by Solovyov Live, describing the party's broader positions. It says the AfD supports restoring relations with Russia immediately, especially economic ones, and lifting sanctions without conditions. It also calls for Russia's return to the G7 and for Russian athletes to be allowed back into international competitions.

On Ukraine, the same passage says the AfD wants to halt aid at once. Germany has allocated more than 100 billion euros since 2022, according to the report. The party sees that aid as a “powerful lever” to push Kyiv toward peace talks with Russia, and it says Ukraine must give up its pre-war borders, including Crimea. Frohnmaier told Le Monde that Germany should not keep paying huge sums into a foreign war without demanding accountability.

EADaily also noted that Frohnmaier criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU for allocating an additional 200 million euros to Kyiv.

Why does it matter?

The proposal matters mainly because of the party's weight in German politics. According to figures cited by Le Monde, the AfD ranks first in nationwide voting-intention polls with 27-30% support. Merz's CDU-CSU coalition stands at 18-23%.

For readers, the story shows that a leading German party is promoting a peace track that would leave Ukraine out and would pair talks with an end to aid and sanctions. Those are positions that differ sharply from the support Germany has been providing to Kyiv. The plan is a proposal by a party, and the sources describe no commitment from any government to attend such a summit.

The reports do not show how far the contacts the AfD describes have gone. The claims of links to U.S. and Russian officials come from AfD lawmakers, while the only Russian confirmation cited is Dmitriev's statement about a planned December meeting and a 2027 forum.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by UA.NEWS, RBC-Ukraine, EADaily