German MEP Fabio De Masi Calls for Dialogue with Russia, Denies Russian Involvement in Leipzig Drone Incident

BERLIN, September 4. /TASS/. Fabio De Masi, a European Parliament member and co-chair of Germany’s BSW party, has called upon his government to break out of the spiral of escalation and start a dialogue with Moscow, calling claims of Russian involvement in the Leipzig/Halle drone incident baseless.

"It takes one unexploded drone containing explosives to trigger a barrage of sanctions. But what evidence is actually available?" he wrote on his Facebook page (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist).

At the same time, the European Parliament member drew contrast with the investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage.

"We know a lot more about the situation surrounding the Nord Stream explosions, thanks to an investigation by Germany’s federal prosecutor general. Today we can assume with a high degree of certainty that a Ukrainian terrorist group is to blame. Yet how does the federal government react to the Nord Stream situation?" he asked rhetorically.

"Together with the EU, we have, among other things, transferred 90 billion [euros] to Ukrainian oligarchs to prolong the war of attrition that cannot be won. Meanwhile, as far as Russia is concerned, there have been calls to toughen sanctions," the parliamentarian continued. "As the BSW party, we demand to break out of this spiral of escalation. We need communication channels with Russia in order to put an end to this madness!"

On Tuesday, the German government officially blamed Russia for the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August. Berlin also announced the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn, the termination of the Russian House’s activities in Berlin, and tighter entry controls for Russian citizens. Russia’s Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev categorically rejected Berlin’s accusations against Moscow as baseless and absurd.

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Germany's recent anti-Russian decisions, made under the pretext of the Leipzig Airport drone incident, are another grave mistake by German authorities that goes against the interests of its people. According to him, these decisions are linked to Germany's domestic political situation and, in particular, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's difficult position.