Alexei Miller, CEO of Russian gas giant "Gazprom" and a long-time trusted advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, met with Markus Frohnmeier, foreign policy spokesman for the parliamentary group of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfG), during the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, DPA reported.
The possibility of restoring the operation of the "Nord Stream" gas pipelines and resuming Russian gas supplies was the focus of discussions at Gazprom headquarters, Frohnmeier told DPA.
"We have great interest in "Nord Stream" "to be put into operation again and we should now jointly consider what the possibilities are to reach a mutual understanding on this issue in the future, after the end of the conflict in Ukraine," the politician said, TASS reported.
Fronmeier is one of four AwG politicians attending the forum in Putin's hometown. The delegation also includes AwG leader in Saxony Jörg Urban, Bundestag member Stefan Cottre and AwG MEP Peter Bystron, DPA reports. For the first time in several years, German companies are participating in the event, the agency notes.
Affordable supplies of oil and gas are important for German industry, Frohnmeier said. "Our task is to put German national interests at the center without compromise."
The AfD has long called for the repair and commissioning of "Nord Stream", arguing that Germany will benefit from cheaper Russian energy.
Political opponents accuse the party of defending Moscow's interests rather than Germany's.
The German Foreign Ministry said it had explicitly advised AfD representatives not to attend the St. Petersburg forum and informed them that the federal government did not support their trip.
The AfD defended the presence of its representatives at the St. Petersburg forum. Frohnmeier said before the trip that he was aware that the visit would be viewed critically, but stressed that dialogue remained necessary.
Bistron and Cottret also defended the trip in comments to the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit".
AfG co-chair Alice Weidel supported the visit, saying that it is always worth exchanging views and maintaining contacts with all countries.
AfG has focused heavily on building ties with Washington in the past 18 months following the re-election of US President Donald Trump. Frohnmeier made several visits to the United States during this period, DPA notes.
Politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties in Germany sharply criticized the visit to St. Petersburg.
"Putin is to some extent backed up against the wall, and if he now gets this propaganda boost because business representatives and politicians from the AfD are flattering him in St. Petersburg, then that is counterproductive," Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told public broadcaster Aer De.
Russia has gradually reduced gas supplies to Germany via the "Nord Stream" after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and completely halted deliveries in September of that year, citing technical problems.
A few weeks later, three of the four pipelines that make up the "Nord Stream" network were damaged in underwater explosions. German federal prosecutors said the main suspects in the sabotage were Ukrainian nationals.