German MP: EU, US politicising energy by dropping Russian gas

German MP and foreign policy expert from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Steffen Kotré has said that the EU and the US are weaponising energy policy by cutting ties with Russian gas.

Kotré argued that gas supplies from Russia had long been a reliable and affordable source of energy for Germany — even during periods of geopolitical tension such as the Cold War, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

“Diversification in the energy sector is important,” Kotré said. “But alongside that, there are also the principles of affordability and reliability. And that’s exactly what Russian gas provided us — for decades. Now we’re being told it was unreliable. That’s absurd.”

The MP criticised current EU and US policies, suggesting that their refusal to engage with Russian energy markets is not based on practical concerns but on ideological grounds. “It is, in fact, the EU and the US that are weaponising energy by rejecting Russian gas. With it, we had both affordability and security. That is what real sovereignty looks like.” 

Kotré further suggested that Germany should reconsider developing its own gas reserves to reduce dependency on foreign powers, but lamented that such discussions are absent from the political mainstream. 

“No one is even talking about this,” he said. “That shows it’s not about safety or diversification, but about ideological confrontation with Russia and a new dependency on the US.”

In a broader critique of the EU, Kotré said the bloc, in its current form, "must disappear," arguing that individual nations should prioritise their own interests over collective EU policy. 

“We should be working with everyone. Instead, we see moralising, ideology, and a disregard for national interests. This needs to stop,” he asserted.

“Germany must become sovereign again — only then will we have a secure energy supply and healthy economic relations with the rest of the world. We must either radically reform the EU or return priority to the nation-states.”

By Naila Huseynova