AfD leaders and Putin envoy prepare talks on restoring Russian gas supplies to Germany - Reuters

The proposed meeting, which could take place as early as March 2027, would involve AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s economic envoy and head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.

According to Reuters, the meeting would take place only if Russia and Ukraine first agree on a peace framework. Possible venues include Israel, the United Arab Emirates and India.

Organizers also hope U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could attend the talks, which would examine the possibility of reopening Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines.

However, a senior U.S. official told Reuters that Witkoff and Kushner had neither been informed about nor invited to the proposed meeting.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied more than half of Germany’s natural gas imports and more than a third of its crude oil imports.

Weidel has previously called for ending restrictions on Russian oil and gas, arguing that cheaper Russian energy would help Germany’s economy.

Any meeting would be largely symbolic, as the AfD is not part of Germany’s federal government. The party recently became the largest party in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt.

Efforts to restore Russian gas supplies would face opposition in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Michael Kellner, a Green lawmaker and former German energy official, said Germany must not become dependent on Russia again.

“We cannot repeat the mistakes of the energy crisis,” Kellner told Reuters. “It cost us €50 billion. We cannot want to go back to that.”