The political leadership in Berlin and Brussels views such visits differently.
Members of the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) arrived in Sochi for the symposium "BRICS – Europe," organized by "United Russia" and the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to RBC, Bundestag deputy and member of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy Steffen Kotre, head of the AfD branch in Saxony Jörg Urban, and Member of the European Parliament Hans Neuhof traveled to Russia.
Another Bundestag deputy from the AfD, Rainer Rothfuss, declined to participate. He told RBC that he made the decision "on his own initiative" due to pressure from German media and concerns that his presence would become "a burden for the party." Rothfuss participated remotely in a prayer meeting.
The deputy emphasized that the party did not prohibit the trip; it was approved.
Co-chair of the "Alternative for Germany" Alice Weidel criticized her colleagues' trip to Sochi and stated that she does not understand its objectives. The politician noted that the permission for the trip was issued by the working committee on foreign policy, and the leadership did not have time to intervene.
Weidel promised to tighten the rules for approving such visits and warned that failure to comply with party requirements could lead to "consequences up to expulsion."
Another co-chair, Tino Chrupalla, on the contrary, supported the participants of the trip.
Earlier, a deputy from the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) in the Hamburg city parliament, Robert Risch, was expelled from the faction for speaking at a congress of far-right organizations held in St. Petersburg.
Leave a comment