Kremlin claims AfD victory in Germany is due to lack of Russian gas

The Kremlin claimed on Monday that the first place of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), in a state elections in northeastern Germany, was due in part to Berlin not buying cheap Russian energy and choosing instead to buy expensive US electricity.

The victory delivered the worst result for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s main conservative party since 1949.

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said that the decline in German competitiveness was largely caused by Germany's decision not to buy cheap?Russian?gas and to instead purchase gas from other countries, most notably the United States, paying up to several times as much on the spot markets.

Last week, two people who were familiar with the plan stated that the top economic envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Germany's AfD far-right party had "begun preparations" to meet in order to discuss restarting the gas supply to Europe's largest economy next year.

Kirill Dmitriev and the AfD declined to comment.

Germany is still recovering from the shock of the'shutdown' of the Nord Stream undersea pipelines, which Russia had rendered inoperative due to explosions in September 2020.

"Naturally Germans or at least some of them are looking for alternatives to the current authorities to improve their own situation. Peskov stated that this is a normal process.

(source: Reuters)