Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia's sovereign wealth fund, and AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel are preparing a meeting as per Reuters.
Meetng as per reports potentially could take place in Israel, UAE, or India as early as March 2027 to discuss restarting Russian gas supplies and reopening the Nord Stream pipelines, contingent on a Russia-Ukraine peace framework. AfD, Germany's most popular party in polling despite being blocked from power by a coalition of rivals.
Restarting Nord Stream requires the German government's approval, and Chancellor Merz has already ruled it out, with his own party calling the idea a disaster for European security. AfD as per polling is Germany's most popular, having just won a state election and Moscow has reason to expect AfD might govern nationally someday.