AfD leadership prepares Russian gas talks with Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Alternative for Germany leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are preparing talks for early 2027 to discuss restarting natural gas flows to Germany.
Backchannel gas negotiations
Preparations are underway for Alternative for Germany co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla to meet Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev as early as March 2027. Dmitriev, who heads Russia's sovereign wealth fund, plans to examine restarting supplies through the Nord Stream pipelines. Before sanctions followed Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia provided over half of Germany's natural gas and more than a third of its crude oil imports. Organisers intend for the talks to occur only if a peace framework is established between Russia and Ukraine, with proposed host locations including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, or India.
Organisers have also sought to involve United States figures, hoping to invite Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner following their September 2026 meeting with Dmitriev in Moscow. A senior US official stated that Witkoff and Kushner have not received information or invitations regarding the gathering. While the AfD remains outside the federal government, the party has campaigned on economic recovery and ending energy boycotts. The American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow described the proposed meeting as a positive step.
- Alice Weidel advocates ending Russian energy boycotts to support German industry
- AfD wins 44 percent of the vote in the Saxony-Anhalt state election
- State elections take place in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
- Earliest proposed date for gas summit between AfD leaders and Kirill Dmitriev
Electoral surge in eastern Germany
The diplomatic initiative follows the AfD's victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, where the party secured 44 percent of the vote to finish first. Lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund campaigned across the state on a vintage East German scooter, projecting an approachable image alongside party rhetoric on migration and deindustrialization. Political consultant Johannes Hillje pointed to a deliberate tactical evolution from grievance to an optimistic campaigning style.
In the past it has been mainly negative rhetoric, scapegoating migrants, attacking the elite, evoking fear and rage. If you really want to mobilize people, it's not enough just to attack others. You also have to offer a positive perspective.
Voters in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania cast ballots on Sunday, September 20, 2026. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania holds direct economic significance for energy trade, as it serves as the German landfall for the Russian Nord Stream pipelines. The AfD aims to build on its eastern momentum to challenge mainstream dominance in both state legislatures.
Cultural conflict and state institutions
In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD's electoral success has triggered resistance across cultural institutions. The party's platform calls for artistic bodies to celebrate prewar German history, abandon multicultural concepts, and end what the party terms a guilt complex regarding the Nazi era. Party co-author Hans-Thomas Tillschneider described the Bauhaus design school in Dessau as non-German and lacking national roots, echoing past political attacks that led to the school's closure during the Nazi period.
An AfD state government will trigger an overall cultural renewal.
Museum directors and arts administrators are mobilizing against funding conditions and ideological mandates. Barbara Steiner, director of the Bauhaus Foundation, warned that the party views cultural institutions as instruments to shape public consciousness. The regional chapter remains under scrutiny after lead candidates declined to classify the Holocaust as humanity's worst crime.
The AfD understands that through culture, they can get into people's heads, into their mind-sets.
Pressure on the political establishment
The AfD's advance has created deep divisions within Germany's governing and opposition parties. Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces renewed internal strain after his conservative Christian Democrats suffered defeat in Saxony-Anhalt, falling short of previous pledges to halve support for the far right. Mainstream parties continue to maintain a firewall refusing formal coalitions with the AfD, whose Saxony-Anhalt branch is classified as right-wing extremist by German federal intelligence. In Bavaria, Minister-President Markus Söder has faced questions regarding conservative strategy as the AfD expands its footprint across eastern and regional parliaments. The upcoming state results will test whether the traditional cordon sanitaire can withstand the far right's rising vote shares.
