Reuters: Germany’s AfD party and Kremlin envoy prepare for talks on restarting Russian gas supplies
Leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party have begun preparing for talks on resuming Russian gas deliveries to Germany, Reuters reported, citing two sources.
The meeting could take place as early as March 2027, with AfD co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla expected to attend along with Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. But it will go ahead only if Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a peace deal by then, the agency said.
There are also plans to bring in U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, though neither has been invited so far, a senior American official told Reuters. The participants are expected to discuss restarting the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
Any attempt to restart Nord Stream would meet resistance in Germany, according to Reuters. Michael Kellner, a Green Party lawmaker who oversaw German energy policy in the first years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said the crisis had cost 50 billion euros and that a return to Russian deliveries would be “treason.” Roderich Kiesewetter, a CDU member of the Bundestag, called a possible resumption of deliveries a disaster.
Russia uses energy, especially Nord Stream, as a hybrid weapon for military purposes. Reopening Nord Stream would be a disaster for European security and isolate Germany.
The meeting would be symbolic, since the AfD is not part of Germany’s federal government, Reuters said. Even so, the party hopes the talks will show voters that it is competent on foreign policy and that the government is unable to address high energy prices.
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