Status: 02/03/2023 5:54 p.m
Two AfD politicians are being criticized for their alleged proximity to Russia: MP Kotré appeared on a Russian talk show known for propaganda, and party leader Chrupalla appeared side by side with Russia’s ambassador.
An appearance on a talk show broadcast on Russian state television drew sharp criticism for AfD MP Steffen Kotré. And an action by AfD boss Tino Chrupalla also causes further discussions.
On Thursday, Kotré was added to the show hosted by Vladimir Solovyov. Solovyov is credited with being very close to the Kremlin, and is said to regularly spread Russian propaganda. He recently referred to Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as “Miss Ribbentropp”. Joachim von Ribbentropp was German foreign minister under Adolf Hitler.
Individual excerpts from the talk show then circulated on social media. In these, Kotré claims, for example, that the media in Germany would “do everything to rouse the German population against Russia.” The deputy was “stunned” by the German arms delivery to Ukraine. Germany “bowed to the pressure”. The majority of German citizens are against deliveries of heavy weapons.
The Bundestag speech already caused a stir
It is not the first time that Kontré has attracted attention for comments on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In a speech in the Bundestag in April last year, he claimed that the West was “partly to blame” for the war and also spoke of bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine that were “directed against Russia”.
AfD member of parliament Norbert Kleinwächter condemned the statements of his party colleague as “disgusting Putin propaganda”. And Kotré’s latest appearance on the Russian talk show has also drawn massive criticism. The AfD can be exploited for Russian propaganda purposes, said the parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast of the AFP news agency. She accused the party leadership of the AfD of not distancing themselves enough from Kotré: “The fact that the AfD leadership is once again writhing around a rebuke like an eel is the old pattern that has to be exposed again and again,” said Mast.
The deputy chairman of the FDP, Wolfgang Kubicki, also criticized Kotré’s behavior in an interview with the broadcasters RTL and ntv: “When an AfD MP seeks public solidarity with the man whose program has been questioning the right to exist and legitimacy of the German state for weeks be asked, that speaks for itself.”
“I give everyone an interview”
Kotré himself defends his appearance on Solovyov’s show. “I’ll give everyone an interview,” he wrote on Twitter, advocating diplomacy “despite the war” and “talking to each other.”
In the ranks of the AfD, the public reaction to Kotré’s appearance has so far been cautious. Party leader Chrupalla told the dpa news agency that Kotré had “expressed his personal opinion” in the Russian program. In addition, each MP “decides and is responsible” for himself which interviews he gives.
Laying of a wreath with Russian Ambassador
Also on Thursday, together with the Russian Ambassador to Germany, Sergei Netschajew, he laid wreaths at the Seelower Höhen Memorial near the Brandenburg border with Poland. The occasion was the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad.
When asked by the dpa about the joint appearance with the Russian ambassador in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been going on for almost a year, Chrupalla emphasized: “We have to de-escalate and shake hands diplomatically. Germany is not at war with Russia.” Chrupalla combined this statement with renewed criticism of Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock and her “frivolous statements” that Germany was at war.
The Green politician was recently criticized for her statement during a session of the Council of Europe that “we are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other”. The Foreign Office then emphasized that Baerbock did not mean that Germany or its allies would participate in the war.