Europe — 2026-09-20

Putin Economic Envoy and German AfD Prepare to Discuss Resuming Russian Gas via Nord Stream

BLUFMoscow's preparatory outreach to the AfD on Nord Stream gas is unlikely to produce a meeting by end of March 2027, but it establishes a political wedge ready for activation if coalition dynamics shift.

Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's economic envoy and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla have begun preparing for a meeting as early as March to discuss resuming Russian gas supplies to Germany, Reuters reported on September 18, citing two people familiar with the plan 12. The meeting would proceed only after Russia and Ukraine agree on a peace framework, and organizers hoped to include US officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, though a senior US official told Reuters the two had not been informed of or invited to the proposed summit 13. Possible venues include Israel, the UAE, or India, and talks would address restarting the Nord Stream pipelines, according to the sources 1. The AfD and a Dmitriev representative declined to comment on the plan 1.

Analysis
A preparatory Dmitriev-AfD channel on Nord Stream gives Moscow a ready-made wedge to test German coalition unity and dangle energy relief ahead of any Ukraine settlement. The meeting cannot occur before a Russia-Ukraine peace framework is concluded, a precondition unmet today, making it unlikely to occur by the end of March 2027. Witkoff and Kushner's exclusion from planning denies organizers the US imprimatur needed to move Berlin's ruling coalition rather than just the AfD's base. We hold low confidence in this judgment, reflecting reliance on unnamed intermediaries describing preparatory contacts rather than any confirmed agenda, venue, or scheduling commitment, with Reuters' single exclusive merely reproduced by other outlets rather than independently confirmed. The overture may function as a low-cost signaling exercise banking domestic political capital in Germany's east without altering federal policy. If the meeting proceeds, German coalition leaders and US negotiators will face pressure to publicly disavow any Nord Stream revival before further state elections.

4 sources

Exclusive-Putin Envoy and Far-Right AfD Prepare Talks to Get Russian Gas Back for Germany, Sources Say - Reuters (via U.S. News & World Report)
Putin envoy Dmitriev, AfD prepare meeting on restarting Russian gas supplies to Germany, Reuters reports - Kyiv Independent
Reuters: Germany's AfD party and Kremlin envoy prepare for talks on restarting Russian gas supplies - Meduza
Putin envoy and German far right are preparing to discuss resuming Russian gas supplies, Reuters says - Ukrainska Pravda