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Germany’s Alternative for Germany, or AfD, called Monday for a “different approach to peace and diplomacy” on the Russia-Ukraine war, urging Chancellor Friedrich Merz to travel to Moscow for talks.
AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla said Germans wanted Merz to open direct communication with Russia in an effort to reduce escalation and the arms buildup.
“They want Friedrich Merz to finally travel to Moscow and hold talks there, so that the spiral of escalation and the arms race can finally be broken,” Chrupalla said at a news briefing in Berlin.
Chrupalla said the AfD favored cooperation with major powers including the U.S. and China and argued that sanctions against Russia had mainly harmed the German economy.
“We want good cooperation with all major powers, with America and China alike,” he said.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel also called for renewed communication with Moscow, saying it was important to establish a channel with Russia “together with the Americans.”
Weidel claimed that both sides viewed the AfD as “the only remaining reliable partner in Germany.”
The comments came after the AfD won the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, its second state victory in two weeks.
According to preliminary results, the AfD received about 38.2% of the vote, ahead of the center-left Social Democrats at 35.5%.
Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, received 4.9%, down from 13.3% in the 2021 election and below the 5% threshold required to enter the state parliament.
The result marked the CDU’s worst showing in its 81-year history.
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