Foreign News
Russia Ukraine War Vladimir Putin: As Europe Hardens Its Line, A Quiet German Back Channel Reaches Russia
As Russia and Ukraine continue to struggle to find a peace deal, a group of former German politicians and influential figures has been quietly trying to keep communication channels open with Moscow.
These people are not representing the German government, but they have created an unofficial back channel where messages can be exchanged between Russia and Germany, according to The Times.
The latest meeting reportedly took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, where former German politicians met representatives linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s circle. The German delegation included Ronald Pofalla, a former chief of staff to ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Matthias Platzeck, the former governor of Germany’s Brandenburg state.
Several other German politicians have also been linked to these unofficial meetings with Russian representatives.
Among them was Ralf Stegner, a senior left-wing lawmaker from Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD). The SPD is the same party that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and Matthias Platzeck belong to. Another participant was Stephan Holthoff-Pfortner, a former regional minister from Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
The Russian side reportedly included Valery Fadeyev, head of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s council on civil society and human rights and Viktor Zubkov, a former Russian deputy prime minister and chairman of energy company Gazprom.
“Germany is a high-priority target for the Kremlin because of its economic power and its potential ability to rebuild its defences and be at the centre of a new European-based defence system that will gradually replace NATO,” said John Lough, a Russia expert at the Chatham House and New Eurasian Strategies Centre think tanks.
The meetings were part of an informal Russia-Germany network that continued even after an official dialogue platform called the Petersburger Dialog ended in 2021. The official dialogue ceased after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, although some members continued to communicate informally.
The German government has publicly distanced itself from these meetings. Officials close to Chancellor Friedrich Merz have said there is no sign that Russia is genuinely interested in meaningful negotiations.
