AfD Calls for Return of Cheap Russian Energy to Save German Economy

In an interview with Reuters, Weidel called the restoration of relations with Moscow one of the key elements of AfD’s strategy, as the party hopes to compete for the chancellorship by 2029.

According to her, cheap Russian raw materials were a fundamental condition for the competitiveness of German industry, and abandoning them inflicted serious damage on the economy.

Before sanctions were imposed after the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Moscow supplied more than a third of Germany’s oil imports and more than half of its natural-gas deliveries.

After those supplies ended and the Nord Stream pipelines were blown up in September 2022, German industry entered a prolonged downturn, Weidel claims.

She said current policy had led to costly dependence on the United States for energy supplies and had cost Germany hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The call to normalize relations with Moscow came ahead of important state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which are due to be held in September.

AfD is leading in polls in these eastern regions, where historical ties with Russia remain stronger and skepticism toward the United States is higher.

Weidel called these elections an important threshold that could help the party break through the political “firewall” maintained by Germany’s leading parties, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU.

A victory at the regional level, she said, would allow AfD to challenge federal policy from state governments and would be a step toward participation in governing the country.

The party is already trying to build direct contacts with Moscow. One senior AfD lawmaker, Markus Frohnmaier, recently traveled to Russia, where he met Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and discussed the possibility of resuming Nord Stream operations.

According to Frohnmaier, Gazprom could resume gas supplies within three months if the pipeline route is restored. He also said German industry risks missing an important window of opportunity to return to the Russian market.

Representatives of Germany’s main parties sharply condemned AfD’s foreign-policy line. CDU lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter accused the party of romanticizing Russia, distorting public debate and exploiting voters’ fears in eastern Germany.

Weidel rejects this criticism, as well as last year’s decision by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to classify AfD as an extremist force. She argues that the party represents the interests of ordinary citizens and will focus on stabilizing the economy, not on destroying the existing system.