AfD commits to NATO expansion and eyes trilateral summit with US, Russia

Following a consensus that Germany should remain in the EU, the AfD has now pledged active participation in NATO.

According to a position paper recently published by the leadership of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, NATO is described as “the strongest military alliance in the world”.

The party aims “to further develop this alliance together with the US and our European partners”.

The US under President Donald Trump is viewed by the AfD parliamentary group as the “most important Western partner”, as foreign policy spokesman Markus Frohnmaier emphasised.

Frohnmaier describes the US intervention in Venezuela as “understandable in terms of realpolitik” and praises the Trump administration for resolutely supporting “the conservative renaissance of the West”.

At the same time, the AfD is pushing for the normalisation of relations with Russia and, in particular, the reactivation of the Nord Stream pipelines, potentially in cooperation with US companies.

All of this is to be raised at a German-American-Russian “summit” in Abu Dhabi this spring; the AfD parliamentary group plans to organise this summit jointly with “special advisers” to the US and Russian presidents.

AfD fully backs US policy on Cuba and Venezuela

In the new position paper on transatlantic relations, the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag adopts a fundamentally highly favourable stance towards the policies of the Trump administration.

The AfD states that the White House is pursuing a “conservative Western renaissance” that will end “woke ideology”.

According to the party, this contributes to “preserving Europe as a Western cultural space”.

In addition, Washington’s actions aimed at securing its “global hegemony in the Western Hemisphere”, namely across the Americas, including the US invasion of Venezuela, the blockade of Cuba, and threats against Panama, are deemed legitimate. The paper states: “We welcome this reorientation in US foreign policy.”

According to the AfD, the invasion of Venezuela in particular is “understandable in terms of realpolitik, regardless of how it is assessed under international law”.

Nevertheless, the AfD wants Washington to end its “global interventionist policy” “beyond the Western Hemisphere”.

On the issue of Greenland, which is geographically considered part of the Americas and therefore of the “Western Hemisphere” but is also claimed by the EU, the AfD document states that Berlin should cooperate more closely with Washington and demand access to the island’s natural resources “within the framework of joint ventures”.

Backing for NATO and German remilitarisation

Furthermore, the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag explicitly commits itself to NATO in the new paper.

The document states, “NATO is the strongest military alliance in the world,” adding, “together with the US and our European neighbours, we want to further develop it as a defence alliance.”

In this context, as confirmed by Markus Frohnmaier, the foreign policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group, the US is described as the “most important Western partner”.

Like many other AfD politicians, Frohnmaier built close ties with the Trump administration over the past year and is currently developing these relations further.

The AfD document explicitly welcomes the withdrawal of US troops from Europe, which Trump has been gradually advancing.

At the same time, it states that it is “imperative to compensate” for this withdrawal “with an increase in the number of German soldiers”.

The AfD had already openly supported the dramatic military expansion required for this purpose in its recently presented European policy strategy paper.

The AfD’s overt support for NATO also comes at a time when the military alliance has initiated a process of “Europeanisation”.

The aim is to systematically increase the share of German and other European soldiers as well as weapons systems. This will expand the control exercised by European powers, and especially Germany, over the alliance.

AfD seeks German access to Ukrainian natural resources

On Monday, Frohnmaier and two other AfD members of the Bundestag presented a “working paper on German-Russian relations and the war in Ukraine”.

According to the document, the war is described as “a tragedy that must be ended as quickly as possible”.

Arguing that the federal government must cut material support to Ukraine to convince Kyiv to enter into serious peace negotiations with Russia, the AfD members urged the government “not to adopt Ukraine’s maximalist positions”.

According to the AfD politicians, Ukraine regaining Crimea, for example, is “entirely unrealistic”.

In addition, the AfD demands that Ukraine “must become a member of neither NATO nor the European Union”.

According to the party, Germany should advocate for “Ukraine to become a neutral state once again”.

Regarding the security guarantees sought by Kyiv, the document states that Germany should not provide them and must on no account deploy troops to Ukrainian territory.

However, the prospect of deploying UN peacekeepers to Ukraine is welcomed. Non-belligerent states, such as India, South Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia, should contribute to securing Ukrainian territory.

In return for the support provided by Berlin, Kyiv should be required to grant access to raw materials such as rare earth elements, other metals, and natural gas.

German-US partnership proposed for Nord Stream

On Russia, the AfD demands a complete policy reversal, including the lifting of all sanctions, the reintegration of Russia into the G7 to recreate the G8, and the resumption of Russian energy imports.

This applies particularly to pipeline gas. Frohnmaier said on Monday, “For us, one of the central goals of German energy sovereignty is that Nord Stream can be recommissioned as part of the system.”

The idea of reopening the Nord Stream pipelines in the long term, and even supplying gas to Europe in the short term via the legacy pipeline network traversing Ukrainian territory, was discussed between Russian and US negotiators in September.

In this context, the Trump administration plans to bring in a US company as an intermediary. Although the official rationale is to circumvent EU sanctions, in reality it is so that revenues from the gas deal can be channelled to the US, potentially to a member of the extended Trump family or an oligarch close to them.

Frohnmaier explicitly backed such an arrangement but is pushing for Germany to secure a larger share of the profits.

The AfD politician explained, for example, that a “German-American operating company” could be established instead of a purely US operating company.

AfD plans Abu Dhabi summit with US and Russia

As the next concrete step, the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag wants a “trilateral summit” to be organised with US and Russian representatives.

Frohnmaier said on Monday that the summit could take place in Abu Dhabi, noting that talks could be envisaged “at the level of special advisers”.

On the Russian side, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian wealth fund and Vladimir Putin’s special representative for economic cooperation, has been informed of the plans; Dmitriev is ready to attend the meeting.

Frohnmaier held talks with Dmitriev in early June on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Dmitriev later shared a photograph with Frohnmaier on X, stating that he looked forward to “building a great future together with the AfD, the most popular party in Germany”.

The Russian representative suggested to Frohnmaier that they “restart the Russia-Germany-US business dialogue”.

Dmitriev is also involved in US-Russia talks on new Russian natural gas exports to the EU or the resumption of operations on the Nord Stream pipelines.

Whether the Trump administration will agree to the Abu Dhabi meeting remains unclear. Frohnmaier indicated that he hopes Dmitriev can persuade Trump to attend.