US EditionGerman legislator’s concealed meeting with Putin confidants sparks security concerns
- In April 2025, German Social Democrat Ralf Stegner attended a meeting in Baku with close associates of Russian President Putin, raising security concerns.
- The meeting occurred despite Russia’s strained relations with the EU and involved participants without public mandates, prompting calls for explanation.
- The meeting featured Viktor Subkov, who once served as Russia’s Prime Minister and now leads Gazprom’s supervisory board, alongside Valery Fadeyev, the EU-sanctioned head of the country’s human rights council; both individuals are linked to the now-defunct Petersburger Dialogue forum.
- Four German participants confirmed a “private” event, with Stegner’s involvement criticized by legislators who demanded he clarify the conduct, citing risks to intelligence oversight.
- The incident raised doubts about Stegner’s nomination to the security committee and highlighted tensions between diplomatic engagement and safeguarding national security.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Russia: A lot of criticism of Stegner's controversial Baku trip
SPD foreign politician Ralf Stegner met with representatives from the Vladimir Putin area in Baku, and now criticism is hailing. But Stegner emphasizes that there is a need for channels of conversation to Moscow.
A secret meeting between a German legislator and Putin's people raises concerns: "To have a special interest in Russia"
The German parliaments asked for an explanation from a high-level social-democratic member of the Bundestagulu Commission (legislative) who oversees the activities of information services after it held confidential discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday Reuters.
Lawmaker's secret meeting with Putin confidants raises questions in Germany
Questions are being raised in the German parliament over a secret meeting between a Social Democrat member of the committee overseeing the work of the country's intelligence services and close associates of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
German legislator’s concealed meeting with Putin confidants sparks security concerns
By Thomas Escritt BERLIN (Reuters) – German legislators are demanding an explanation from a senior Social Democrat on the parliamentary committee that scrutinises the work of the intelligence services after he held undisclosed talks with close associates of Russia’s president. Ralf Stegner, a member of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Control Committee, was among politicians from the SPD and Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives who took part i…
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