Key facts
- AfD politician Markus Frohnmaier met Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
- Frohnmaier called for the reopening of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
- He advocated for resuming Russian gas deliveries to Germany.
- Frohnmaier stated Germany is in a severe economic downward spiral due to high energy costs.
- The AfD is currently leading in German opinion polls.
Markus Frohnmaier, the AfD's parliamentary foreign policy spokesperson, met with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, in St Petersburg. Frohnmaier called for the reopening of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the resumption of Russian gas deliveries to Germany, citing the country's severe economic downward spiral driven by high energy costs. He stated that all options, including recommissioning Nord Stream and resuming trade with Russia, should be considered. Gazprom confirmed the meeting, and Dmitriev expressed anticipation for building a future with the AfD. Germany's economic model was historically reliant on cheap Russian energy, with Russia supplying over a third of crude oil and more than half of natural gas imports before the invasion of Ukraine. The Nord Stream 1 pipelines were damaged in September 2022, and Nord Stream 2, though completed, never began operations. Opinion polls show the AfD leading over Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives, with the party hoping to win power in upcoming state elections in eastern Germany and advocating for re-establishing relations with Moscow.