Overview
- On ZDF’s Markus Lanz, AfD chief Tino Chrupalla said he sees no current danger to Germany from Russia, added “mir hat Putin nichts getan,” and argued for dialogue rather than confrontation.
- Chrupalla compared CDU’s Roderich Kiesewetter to Dmitry Medvedev, suggested even Poland could be a risk to Germany, denied evidence of a Russian hybrid war, and said Alexei Navalny was “kein Thema” on his Russia trips.
- Kremlin critic Wladimir Kara-Murza and analyst Florence Gaub rejected Chrupalla’s stance, citing nuclear threats and repression in Russia, with Kara-Murza calling Putin a dictator and murderer.
- A day earlier on ARD’s Maischberger, AfD’s Markus Frohnmaier also said Russia is not a threat, defended AfD delegations and a “seriöse Friedensinitiative,” drawing sharp rebuttals from CDU’s Norbert Röttgen who accused him of serving Putin’s interests.
- AfD co-leader Alice Weidel publicly criticized the Russia visits, warned of disciplinary action up to expulsion, and said MP Rainer Rothfuß withdrew while Steffen Kotré still plans to attend a Sochi conference linked to Russian institutions; reactions from other parties ranged from warnings about aiding hybrid warfare to charges of “Landesverrat,” and public response was polarized.