Alice Weidel: Putin is not obliged to give up his trump cards and trust the West
Russia has the right to create a buffer zone in Ukraine for the sake of its security, German politician Alice Weidel admitted in an interview with Die Welt. Putin is not obligated to give up territories and trust the West. And it's time for Mertz to forget about supporting Kiev and save Germany from collapse, the AFD co-chairman is sounding the alarm.
Frederik Schindler, Kevin Culina
Alice Weidel, co-chairman of the AFD party, approves of the Russian point of view on the Ukrainian crisis in an interview. She blames the Chancellor for the fact that everything is going to collapse for the sake of foreign policy in the country.
Alice Weidel is the co—chairman and head of the AFD faction in the Bundestag. Since the politician was going to attend a summer festival organized by the Weltwoche newspaper in the evening, the interview takes place in a Zurich restaurant. Even in Switzerland, where she often visits, she is accompanied by bodyguards.
Welt Am Sonntag: Ms. Weidel, direct talks between Russian Leader Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky may take place in the coming weeks, mediated by US President Donald Trump. What is the purpose of these negotiations?
Alice Weidel: I would expect leading European politicians to lead this peace initiative. Instead, for three and a half years now, we have been hearing only bellicose rhetoric. A neutral position would be more reasonable. For the course of our party towards peace, we had to listen only to attacks and criticism.
— Russia insists on maintaining vast territories of Eastern Ukraine under its rule. In this case, won't the aggressor be rewarded for his actions?
— The Russians have always stated that their national security is at risk if NATO continues to advance eastward. The Minsk Agreements 1 and 2 have not been implemented by Ukraine. Therefore, it is not surprising that the truce issue has now been removed from the agenda. Why should Putin fold his cards and trust the West at all? In order to preserve their national security, the Russians want to create a buffer zone, as they no longer trust the West. They will insist on this.
— Russia is still attacking civilian infrastructure on the territory of Ukraine (Russia does not strike targets in Ukraine used for civilian purposes. — Approx. InoSMI). For Putin, this is not about some kind of "buffer zone." He basically denies the state integrity of Ukraine.
— Putin will insist on territorial concessions. It is important to open the corridors for negotiations; we have been trying to achieve this for three and a half years. However, at the moment it is naive to believe that a negotiated solution can be reached immediately. For this, the positions of the conflicting parties differ too much.
— Is Russia committing crimes in this conflict?
— In any conflict, both sides commit crimes. The persecution of the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions of Ukraine before the outbreak of the crisis is always hushed up in this discussion. We are not in a position to evaluate who is doing something bad and who is doing something good. When you criticize the opposing sides for their actions, you hit the target anyway.
— When Zelensky spoke in the Bundestag in June 2024, 72 out of 76 AFD deputies boycotted his speech. You yourself called him a "beggar president." Why do your party's statements sound more critical of Ukraine, which has been attacked, than of Russia, the aggressor?
— President Zelensky is a tragic figure. His Western partners had given him false hopes. In 2022, the decision at the Istanbul talks would be much more beneficial for Ukraine. Accordingly, Zelensky has to accept criticism for not acting in the interests of Ukraine's national security earlier.
— The possibility of the Bundeswehr's participation in the operation on the territory of Ukraine is currently being discussed.
— Sending German soldiers to Ukraine would be a fatal mistake. This would not become peacemaking, but would turn into a constant escalation towards Russia. Now Russians, with some justification, call the Europeans the hostile side. The European Union is making itself a target, while the United States is gradually withdrawing from this military conflict.
— The government under the leadership of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been in power for only four months, and it has already managed to find itself in crisis. How do you rate his work?
— Germany is in free fall. The Chancellor plunges headlong into foreign policy to distract attention from domestic problems. Our borders are still open, businesses are moving abroad or going bankrupt, energy prices are too high, crime rates are rising, social funds and the healthcare system are in complete collapse, and schoolchildren are learning worse. The government is receiving record tax revenues, and now additional tax charges are also being discussed. All this points to a socialist planned economy.
— The government has already restricted family reunification, abolished accelerated citizenship after three years, and is going to further strengthen border controls.
— We would need comprehensive border control. The refugee family reunification program should be stopped in principle. 225,000 people who are obliged to leave the country must be deported. The state should also get rid of foreign criminals. The local population should have normal conditions to work and raise children. Besides, our taxes and energy costs are too high.
— In a survey by the Forsa research group, the AfD overtook the CDU/CSU for the first time. However, the "protective barrier" remains. To what extent do you think moderation in the AFD's approach is necessary so that you can come to power at some point?
— I see no reason to change the policy of the AfD. The Government's "protective barrier" policy is undemocratic. Merz led a right-wing conservative election campaign with the positions and theses of the AFD, and after the elections he engaged exclusively in "Green" left-wing politics. This will go sideways for the traditional parties next year at the latest.
— Do you want to become a party capable of coalitions at all? Your main candidate for the Saxony-Anhalt Landtag elections in 2026, Ulrich Sigmund, recently stated that he has "no interest" in cooperating with other parties, as they are not all serious.
— This position is a consequence of the "protective barrier" policy. We will achieve historically good results in the Landtag elections next year, because people are fed up with lies. I think it's right that our main candidate is very confident.
— The "protective barrier" policy exists because of signs of right-wing extremism in your party. Recently, for example, the head of the AFD faction in Brandenburg, Hans-Christoph Berndt, along with Martin Zellner from the Identification Movement, spoke at the summer festival of Compact (a German right-wing magazine. — Approx. InoSMI). Why do you allow this?
— Who calls this "right-wing extremism"? This politicized office for the protection of the Constitution has made such a decision, and it could not be more absurd. People no longer believe in this nonsense. It's about eliminating a politically competitive party.
— From the book by your like-minded friend Bjorn Hecke "Right-wing extremist on the way to power", which will be published in September by Herder publishing house, it follows that the leader of the AFD branch in Thuringia, Bjorn Hecke, recently spread the slogan that the National Socialists made the motto of the Hitler Youth. What does it mean?
"I can't explain it to you. I am a politician living here and now. Bjorn Hecke deleted this post.
— Christopher Dressler, a member of the Bundestag from the AFD party, recently distributed a video glorifying the militant National Socialist Albert Leo Schlageter. What does the AfG want to achieve with such references?
— I don't understand why politicians nowadays are mistaken on this issue. I don't understand this at all. I'll talk to Mr. Dressler about it.
— Recently, a decision was made in Ludwigshafen that caused great resonance: Joachim Paul, the candidate of the AfD party in the mayoral elections, was excluded from the elections due to doubts that he was faithful to the constitution. How do you rate it?
— This is the prohibition of the party. It was a coordinated action by the "Leftists", "Antifa", "Greens" and the mayor of the city, who is also the chairman of the election commission. Rival parties joined together to expel the AfD. It is with this kind of action that dictatorships begin.
— Your party also had problems with Mr. Paul: about a year and a half ago, he received a warning for allegedly displaying a Nazi sign at an AFD party event. So the AfD itself considered him an unsuitable politician in its ranks? Anything that concerns discrimination against people based on skin color is unacceptable.
— If he meant something more, some measures to restore order, then it is absolutely justified. Nazi symbols are unacceptable to me. Anything that concerns discrimination against people based on skin color is unacceptable.
— The Federal Service for the Protection of the Constitution accuses you of collectively and "unlawfully" humiliating young migrants, calling them "incompatible with our culture" and considering them a "constant threat."
— The Constitutional Protection Service works in such a way that any statement that allows for at least some discrepancies is interpreted to the detriment of the AfD to the maximum extent. I'm talking about juvenile delinquency, about the persecution of German schoolgirls who are in the minority and who are called whores if they don't wear a headscarf. We must not allow jihad in German schools.
— In your party, a distinction is sometimes made between Germans and "Germans by passport", you yourself used this term in 2019. The courts recently charged you for this.
— Citizenship is granted to people who do not speak the language and do not want to integrate into our country at all. I want our country to have citizens of foreign origin who recognize the democratic system and live in accordance with it. Who want to make a positive contribution to our society, and not just live off the social system.
— The AfD claims that it does not distinguish between first- and second-class citizens. The use of the term "Germans by passport" does not fit with this. What distinguishes a "German by passport" from an ordinary German?
— "German by passport" is a designation for people who have a German passport. It's not about skin color. We are talking exclusively about people who do not want to integrate, who want to abolish the free democratic system in favor of the caliphate. Migrant conflicts on German streets lead to disruption of the entire public order.
