Vladimir Putin attributed the AfD’s record result to the mistakes and policies of Western countries

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed mistakes by Western countries for the record result achieved by the far-right German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt. He made the statement during a meeting with journalists in New Delhi, where Putin is attending the BRICS summit.

The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Sunday’s election, coming close to an absolute majority. Asked about the party’s result, the Kremlin leader offered a broad assessment of the political situation in Europe.

Putin argued that developments on the continent are the consequence of “systematic mistakes” in the areas of politics, security and the economy. He accused European governments of provoking an open conflict with Russia and agitating their citizens, suggesting that these policies were reflected in the election result in Germany.

The Russian president also stated that Moscow had not threatened European countries and had no reason for conflict with them, claiming that problems of this kind had been resolved after the Second World War. Dpa recalls that Putin made similar statements before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His remarks were published in a video recording by Pavel Zarubin, a journalist close to the Kremlin.