In April 2025, a group of German politicians, including Ralf Stegner of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), participated in a controversial meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, with figures close to the Kremlin.
Stegner, a member of the Bundestag and the Parliamentary Control Committee overseeing German intelligence services, met with high-ranking Russian representatives such asViktor Subkov, former Prime Minister of Russia and current chairman of Gazprom's supervisory board, and Valery Fadeyev, chairman of the Russian Human Rights Council, sanctioned by the European Union.
The meeting, according to its organizers and participants, was a "private" and "confidential" event, without public mandates or financial compensations. In a joint statement, the German attendees defended dialogue even in times of great international tension.
Entre los involucrados está el diputado socialista Ralf Stegner
However, the meeting sparked strong controversy due to its secrecy, the nature of the Russian attendees, and the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine, a country allied with Germany.
The meeting was revealed by German media such as Die Zeit and the ARD channel's Kontraste program, which also noted that it wasn't the first time such meetings had been organized.
In fact, it would have been at least the third similar secret meeting since October 2024, the first of which was reportedly held in Italy, organized by the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, close to the CDU.
Stegner se reunió con el ex primer ministro ruso Viktor Subkov
The historical background also exacerbates the controversy. The links between several of the participants and the defunct Petersburg Dialogue, a forum created in 2001 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and then German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, have raised suspicions.
This platform was officially closed in 2021 following the Russian crackdown on civil organizations, and became completely inactive after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Criticism was quick to follow. Konstantin von Notz, chairman of the Parliamentary Control Committee (PKGr) for the Greens, called the situation "unacceptable" and demanded immediate explanations.
Una amplia gama de diputados criticaron a Stegner por la información de inteligencia que posee
Roderich Kiesewetter, a conservative member of the same committee, also called for transparency. Meanwhile, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a progressive MEP, stated that Stegner shouldn't be re-elected to the committee, as "those in such sensitive positions must be above all suspicion."
The fact that Stegner has access to classified information from German intelligence services raises concern, as Russian espionage is an active and priority threat to European security.
The meeting with key figures of Putin's regime, held in a luxurious setting and without official supervision, sends, according to critics like politician Peter Beyer (CDU), a wrong message to Moscow and contradicts European security policy, based on unity and firmness against Russian aggression.
Muchos exigieron explicaciones inmediatas por parte de quienes se encontraron con los rusos y exigieron que Stegner no sea reelecto en su posición en la Comisión de Inteligencia
