Putin envoy signals potential Nord Stream revival in cooperation with AfD

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has suggested that Moscow could work with Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to restore the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

“Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will prosper again when, through joint work with the Alternative for Germany party, access to the affordable and reliable Nord Stream gas pipeline returns. Lower electricity bills, the creation of new jobs and higher economic growth,” Dmitriev said.

“No more suicide for German energy and industry!” he added.

Dmitriev’s comments came after Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the plans, that he and AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were preparing for a meeting to discuss a possible resumption of Russian gas supplies to Germany. The meeting could take place as early as March 2027, but would depend on a preliminary peace framework being reached between Russia and Ukraine.

According to Reuters, the proposed talks would examine the possibility of restarting the Nord Stream pipelines. The AfD has advocated restoring economic ties with Russia and ending the restrictions on Russian energy imports. Dmitriev and an AfD spokesperson declined to comment to Reuters on the planned meeting.

Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 were built to transport Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The pipelines were damaged by explosions in September 2022, and gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 had already been halted before the blasts following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent European sanctions.

Before the 2022 invasion and the resulting sanctions, Russia supplied more than half of Germany’s natural gas imports and more than a third of its crude oil imports. The European Union has since sharply reduced its reliance on Russian energy and is moving toward ending Russian gas imports altogether.

By Tamilla Hasanova