A parliamentary trip to Russia fraught with internal political explosives, and if the head of the delegation, an AfD is a politician, all the more. Nevertheless, the trip passes quietly, even if other media reports.
How should Germany deal with Russia? After the occupation of the Crimea, collected penalties are useful or rather harmful? These issues are currently in dispute. The lines of conflict to go by, the parties. Then, when a Delegation of the German Federal government breaks down tags to a trip to Russia, criticism is programmed. When the Delegation of politicians from the right-wing populist and quite Putin-friendly AfD is directed to the Deputy Robby’s throat. Criticism was also quite fast: The tabloid “Bild” – after all, the newspaper with the highest circulation in Germany – in an article from a “scandal tour”. Further, it was said: “According to image information, planned the throat, the essential appointments at the German Embassy – with Kremlin’s help!”
The parliamentarians speak explicitly: According to their statements, the Embassy has supported the “travel active”. In addition, other members throat design of the trip planning had to be supplemented. Thus, the SPD parliamentarian Doris Barnett said, you have given to the dialogue with the Russian civil society and Russian business representatives in the room. In the original draft that was not intended.
Together and talk Turkey
The FDP Deputy Michael Link, the critic is considered to be the Kremlin, told Deutsche Welle: “Such trips are very important. When the parliamentarians come and do not have the opportunity to talk to each other, also critical, is also in dispute, then we would have failed our Job. It is part of the mandate that you visited, but also that you talk Tacheles.” And he explained further: “In the Bild-Zeitung Yes, the program had been made by a, namely, our Chairman of the AfD is a member. That’s not true, of course. There was a proposal that we have changed together and wear it now, together.”
In conversation: AfD Deputy Robby’s throat at the Petersburg dialogue in October 2018
The Deputy head of the Faction of the Left in the Bundestag, Gregor Gysi, who is also a member of the Delegation, welcomed expressly that all groups were represented. “As a result, any one-sidedness is avoided, both in the representation of the state in Germany as well as in terms of the relationship to the other country.”
The purpose of these trips was, “contacts between the parliaments, or to build up. Because contacts between the governments are not sufficient and often not even then, if there are disturbances in the relations. Then the MP must try to find other ways to make contacts.”
Contacts collect, items understand
Link not a description of the sense of the journey this way: “Our task is to make foreign policy instead of the government, but we want to restore with the parliamentarians of the Duma contacts and want to understand your Position. And because different positions call.”
To the Western sanctions against Russia within the Delegation to different views, which should also be with the Russian side openly discussed. “As long as there is no significant progress in the Minsk process, the sanctions have their permission,” said Sylvia Pantel of the CDU. This does not mean, however, that the dialogue is superfluous. On the contrary, as Michael von Abercron of the CDU.
The Russian side I now have more interest in contacts and greater cooperation, said the Green politician Jürgen Trittin, of the disease due to earlier had to leave. This was in the past years, quite differently: “Russia was not interested as a result of the aggravated Situation in a dialogue. We had to push basically.”
A total of six members of the Bundestag from all political groups in Moscow and in the industrial region of Kaluga, southwest of the capital on hold until Friday. Throat, which failed last with the attempt in the Bundestag, on state at a cost of an office in Russia, set up, leads as the first AfD politician to such a group.