There are discussions about how to deal with Russia not only in the AfD. The CDU is also struggling to find its way: Saxony’s prime minister, Kretschmer, is thinking about new trade relations with Moscow, but other countries don’t like it.
There is debate in the CDU about German policy towards Russia. This was triggered by the Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer. In an interview with the Funke media group, he said: “We should also look at sanctions against Russia from our own economic interests.” Therefore, Germany should “resume energy supplies from Russia after the armistice.”
Europe needs affordable energy, Kretschmer said. Therefore, Russia should “in the future return to being a trading partner – without making us a new dependency.”
This is not the first time Kretschmer has spoken out in favor of an energy policy rapprochement with Russia. The CDU politician already made similar statements in 2022, after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Kiesewetter: “Security policy Nonsense”
There was resistance for Kretschmer from his party friend Roderich Kiesewetter. The foreign politician sharply criticized Kretschmer’s remarks: “It is absurd to think about energy supplies from Russia at the moment, when Russia is bombing Ukrainian homes and energy infrastructure every day,” Kiesewetter told Handelsblatt on Saturday. Such statements are “counterproductive nonsense and security policy.”
Germany’s interests should be “for Ukraine to win the war, restore its 1991 borders and push back Russia completely,” Kiesewetter said. Russia under President Vladimir Putin has had to abandon its imperial ambitions. “We cannot achieve this by repeating old mistakes or covering up.” The “biggest danger” for Europe is Russia.
The federal CDU and changing governments have always rejected Kretschmer’s demands with the argument that Russia should end the war in Ukraine, but there is no sign of this.
Sanctions after attack on Ukraine
Before Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022, Russia was one of Germany’s most important energy suppliers. Gas and oil pipelines from Russia are no longer sent to Germany. In October, EU countries agreed to eliminate remaining natural gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027. As a result of the war of aggression, the EU imposed broad sanctions against Moscow.
