Several AfD politicians' trip to the economic forum in St. Petersburg will be discussed in the Bundestag on Thursday. Coalition factions from the Union and SPD have requested a current affairs hour.
The participation of lawmakers Markus Frohnmaier, Jörg Urban, Steffen Kotré and Petr Bystron at the forum in St. Petersburg has led to a parliamentary debate. Frohnmaier met there with an advisor to President Vladimir Putin and the Gazprom chief, both of whom are under sanctions. Frohnmaier rejected criticism and wrote on the platform X: “While the usual suspects stir up hatred, the AfD represents German interests in the world.” The Foreign Office had warned against such trips and described them as a state-organized propaganda event. The current affairs hour is titled “Russia’s escalation in the Ukraine war and the participation of AfD members of parliament in the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.” It takes place at the request of the coalition factions.