Putin Envoy and Germany’s Far-Right AfD Plot Early-2025 Talks on Restoring Russian Gas

Sources say that Kirill Dmitriev – a close adviser to President Vladimir Putin and head of Russia’s sovereign-wealth fund – will meet with Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as early as March 2025. The summit could be held in Israel, the United Arab Emirates or India and would focus on reopening the Nord Stream pipelines that feed Germany. Organisers stress that the talks will proceed only after a peace framework between Russia and Ukraine is concluded.

Putin’s representative and the "AfD" party are preparing talks on restoring Russian gas supplies to Germany, media reports say The Straits TimesKyiv Independent

Before the sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied more than half of Germany’s natural-gas imports and over a third of its crude-oil imports. The under-sea Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were damaged by explosions in September 2022; German investigators attribute the sabotage to a group of seven suspects led by Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznietsov, a claim Kyiv denies.

Kyiv Independent

• The American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow welcomed the idea, saying that “involving Germany as a key European economy can create a broader platform for discussing issues that are significant both for these countries and for the rest of the world.” “Involving Germany as a key European economy can create a broader platform for discussing issues that are significant both for these countries and for the rest of the world,” — Robert Agee, President of AmCham Russia

The Straits Times

• A senior U.S. official confirmed that American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have not been invited to the proposed summit.

Putin’s representative and the "AfD" party are preparing talks on restoring Russian gas supplies to Germany, media reports say

• Green lawmaker Michael Kellner warned that “Germany cannot become dependent on Russia again,” citing the €50 billion cost of the 2022 energy crisis. “Germany cannot become dependent on Russia again,” — Michael Kellner

The Straits Times

• CDU MP Roderich Kiesewetter argued that the AfD’s overtures betray both Ukraine and Germany and that using Nord Stream as a hybrid weapon would jeopardize European security.

The Straits Times

• Critics across Germany and Eastern Europe contend that any revival of Russian gas supplies would revive the “mistakes of the energy crisis” and risk political isolation.

The Straits Times

• “Involving Germany as a key European economy can create a broader platform for discussing issues that are significant both for these countries and for the rest of the world,” — Robert Agee, President, AmCham Russia “Involving Germany as a key European economy can create a broader platform for discussing issues that are significant both for these countries and for the rest of the world,” — Robert Agee, President of AmCham Russia

The Straits Times

• “Germany cannot become dependent on Russia again,” — Michael Kellner, Green lawmaker “Germany cannot become dependent on Russia again,” — Michael Kellner

The Straits Times