Germany's far-right AfD demands sympathy for Russian position
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has called for sympathy for Moscow's position as European leaders try to increase pressure on the Kremlin to agree to an end to the war in Ukraine.
No sensible peace negotiations can take place "if Russia's security interests are not finally taken into account," AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said ahead of a parliamentary group meeting in Berlin.
Weidel claimed that Russian security interests were what had been at stake for years in the region and they were all that was at stake for Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump now.
She went on to say that the AfD had been stressing since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine "that Russia's security interests should finally be taken into account," echoing one of Russia's arguments used to justify the war.
The anti-immigrant AfD emerged as the biggest opposition party from Germany's February elections. The party has repeatedly called for the resumption of Russian gas imports, which were halted in the wake of the war.
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