Putin envoy Dmitriev, AfD prepare meeting on restarting Russian gas supplies to Germany, Reuters reports
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Kremlin economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev and the leadership of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are preparing to meet as early as March to discuss a possible resumption of Russian gas supplies to the EU country, Reuters reported on Sept. 18, citing two undisclosed sources.
The opposition AfD has emerged as Germany's largest party, running on a far-right, anti-immigration platform while calling for cutting assistance to Ukraine and resuming economic cooperation with Russia.
Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund who has mediated the U.S.-Russian rapprochement, would meet with AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, a source told Reuters.
Given the AfD's opposition role, the meeting would have little effect on Germany's actual policy but would further underscore the close ties between the far-right party and Moscow.
The party has advocated lifting economic sanctions against Russia and restarting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were built to funnel Russian gas to Germany through the Baltic Sea.
Both pipelines were damaged by explosions in September 2022, in what German investigators say was an act of sabotage allegedly orchestrated by a group of seven suspects led by Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznietsov. Kyiv has denied any responsibility.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has previously ruled out a future restart of the Nord Stream pipelines.
Before the full-scale war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions, Germany sourced over half of its gas imports from Russia. The EU has drastically reduced Russian energy supplies since 2022 and plans to end Russian gas imports completely by next year.
The AfD and Dmitriev's representatives have declined to comment to Reuters on the meeting. Organizers allegedly hoped that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would also attend, but a U.S. official told the news agency that the American diplomats are unaware of any such meeting.
The summit would happen only if a peace framework between Russia and Ukraine is concluded, and could take place in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, or India, Reuters reported.
