Political scientist assesses the AfD's idea of a Moscow–Berlin–Washington summit

The idea of a trilateral summit and the political scientist's assessment

In Germany, the desire to restore relations with Russia is growing, political scientist Alexander Rar told News.ru. He was commenting on the idea of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) to hold a summit of Moscow, Berlin and Washington.

Conditions and limitations

“The success of the trilateral talks — the US, Russia and the AfD — depends on how the dialogue on a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv goes under the mediation of the Trump administration. In Germany, there is a clear desire to normalize relations with Russia again, so the idea proposed by the AfD can be viewed with a certain hope,” Rar said. At the same time, he noted that the German government will do everything to isolate the AfD on the issue of engagement with Russia, and some German companies are wary of cooperating with Moscow because of sanctions.

What is known about the initiative

The newspaper Le Monde wrote about the AfD's plans to organize a summit with the participation of representatives of Germany, Russia and the US. According to the publication, Moscow has already confirmed its participation through the Russian president's special envoy, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev. Thus, the initiative itself comes from an opposition party, not from the German government, and, in Rar's assessment, Berlin will hinder its implementation — at the same time, the publications do not report any reaction from official Berlin or Washington.