Germany's far-right AfD joins Russia event despite criticism

A resident walks past destroyed cars outside a residential building damaged following massive Russian missile and drone strikes to Kyiv on June 2, 2026. [AFP]

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Tuesday rejected criticism of plans by two members to go to a Russian economic conference, saying the pair would promote German economic interests and "peace and dialogue".

Markus Frohnmaier, deputy chairman of the AfD's parliamentary group, and fellow MP Steffen Kotre are both travelling to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum this week.

Frohnmaier told AFP he was seeking to "keep channels of communication open under difficult conditions" in St Petersburg.

"German economic interests in Russia persist, even if the German government largely ignores them," he said.

The AfD, Germany's largest opposition party, is regularly criticised for close ties to Moscow and has faced accusations of passing sensitive information to the Kremlin.

Russian intelligence services use events like the St Petersburg meeting "to gather information and recruit", Marc Henrichmann, the conservative chairman of German parliament's intelligence oversight committee, told the Handelsblatt newspaper.

Heinrichmann had previously alleged that Frohnmaier was "under the absolute control" of Russia, citing Kremlin documents.

Social Democratic MP Sebastian Fiedler called the AfD's presence in St Petersburg "highly problematic from a security policy perspective", while Greens party MP Konstantin von Notz told Handelsblatt that "the AfD does not represent German interests -- it wants to turn Germany into an outpost of Russia".

Frohnmaier, however, told AFP that he planned to discuss German economic interests and a potential return to "secure and affordable energy supplies" while in Russia.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, was long a major buyer of Russian gas.

But energy imports from Russian largely halted after Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering an energy crisis in Germany that continues to pose challenges for industry.

Representatives from more than 130 countries, including the United States, are attending the St Petersburg event from Wednesday until Saturday, according to organisers.

The gathering -- once seen as Russia's answer to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland -- has in recent years reflected Russia's relative isolation, with few world leaders or top corporate executives joining the event.

"It's been a long time since we've been present with a delegation of this size," Frohnmaier said in a video posted to X on Monday.