Kremlin praises AfD: “Statements impress us”

After the AfD's election successes, Russia would like to enter into discussions with the party. The Alternative for Germany's statements about resuming relations with Russia “impress us,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Russian agency Interfax.

As a political force, the party is showing constantly growing popularity. “Of course, such statements seem more advantageous to us than those of Merz, who basically only distinguished himself through confrontational statements against the Russian Federation,” Peskov said.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is criticized in Moscow as a “Russia hater” and “warmonger”. In contrast, the AfD, which is classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in some federal states, has had contacts with Moscow for a long time.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also welcomed AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla to the Russian capital for talks in 2020. Despite the Russian war of aggression, party representatives also attended the economic forum in St. Petersburg this year. The Kremlin representative for international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriyev, recently announced another business forum next year with AfD representatives.

Russia accuses the federal government led by Merz of fueling the war with arms deliveries and billions in aid to Ukraine. Germany is now Ukraine's most important supporter in the defense against the Russian war of aggression. According to surveys, Merz is considered one of the most popular foreign politicians in Ukraine.

In the past, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had also made positive comments about the AfD on several occasions. If the Western sanctions were lifted, he had offered to supply comparatively cheap Russian gas to Germany again if there was an agreement to do so that would be long-term and independent of political trends. After the AfD's victory in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Putin said that developments in Germany were the result of systematic errors in politics and economics in the West.