Four politicians from the German AfD party will attend an economic forum in Russia — Bild
Four representatives of the far-right party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) will participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which is being held under the patronage of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
Official invitations to the German politicians were sent personally by Anton Kobyakov, an advisor to the Russian president.
According to the German newspaper Bild, the delegation includes influential officials from the political party that currently leads in opinion polls in Germany.
Among the participants will be Jörg Urban, head of the party’s Saxony chapter, and Steffen Kottre, the faction’s economic spokesperson in the Bundestag.
Foreign policy spokesman Markus Fromayer and Member of the European Parliament Petr Bystron will also travel to Russia.
The latter has publicly stated that he plans to use this visit for a diplomatic mission and wants to personally deliver a message to Putin from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding the need to end the war.
The politician emphasized that he is committed to restoring large-scale cooperation between the two countries.
“I am committed to ending the war as soon as possible and normalizing economic relations. As a Member of the European Parliament from Munich, I want Siemens and BMW to be able to operate fully in Russia again,” Petr Bystron stated.
German analysts and experts on international politics have harshly criticized this decision by representatives of the opposition party.
Political scientist Nico Lange emphasized that this visit is exceptionally beneficial for the Kremlin regime, which is trying to demonstrate the absence of an international blockade.
Moscow has repeatedly invited members of the AfD to show that the country is not isolated on the international stage.
“Otherwise, almost no foreign guests visit Russia. Russian propaganda will take advantage of this,” Lange stated.
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