BERLIN — The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is an ideal location for clandestine meetings between shadow diplomats from Germany and Russia. Citizens of both countries can enter without difficulty. On top of that, one can remain largely undisturbed in the desert state. And then there are the local amenities. For their confidential meeting with former politicians and lobbyists from Germany, the delegation of Vladimir Putin loyalists is said to have booked rooms for the first weekend of November at the exclusive Bab Al Qasr Hotel, a stylish property on the Persian Gulf with its own private beach.
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However, according to Die Zeit sources, the rather jovial mood among the Russian group was not only due to the comforts of the accommodation. It also stemmed from the fact that their German counterparts had brought good news this time, news that could pose diplomatic difficulties for the German government.
Old acquaintances
The meeting in Abu Dhabi was at least the fourth encounter between high-level Germans and Russians. Previously, they had met several times in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, as reported by Die Zeit earlier this year. Those who reportedly traveled from Germany to Abu Dhabi included former Minister of the Chancellery Ronald Pofalla, of the center-right CDU party and Martin Hoffmann, Managing Director of the German Russian Forum. Matthias Platzeck, former Minister President of Brandenburg from the center-left SPD, is also said to have been present.
From Russia, the participants reportedly included Viktor Zubkov, the powerful chairman of Gazprom’s supervisory board, and Valery Fadeyev, Putin’s human rights commissioner. Fadeyev is sanctioned by the European Union for war propaganda and is not permitted to enter any EU countries. Mikhail Shvydkoy, Putin’s representative for international cultural ties, is said to have canceled at short notice.
The Russians are apparently seeking to establish a discreet channel of communication with the German government.
These meetings resemble a gathering of old acquaintances. They know each other, they respect each other, and they see each other regularly.
Schröder’s legacy
Officially, the discussions are about reviving the Petersburg Dialogue, a forum founded in 2001 by then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Politicians, business leaders, and intellectuals met in Wiesbaden, Königswinter, Moscow, and St. Petersburg to discuss Germany and Russia. Pofalla and Zubkov also know each other from that period. Pofalla led the forum on the German side, while Zubkov headed the Russian side.
In 2021, the German government under Angela Merkel formally declared the Petersburg Dialogue over, and even then the Russian participants were almost exclusively hand-picked figures loyal to the Kremlin.
How can they continue despite this? That has been the central question since their first secret meeting in Baku in early 2024. The Russians are apparently seeking to establish a discreet channel of communication with the German government. This time in Abu Dhabi, particular efforts were made to maintain secrecy, likely because what the German side had to convey was exceptionally sensitive: namely, that Ronald Pofalla would be traveling to Moscow with Martin Hoffmann in early December. And not only that. A return visit to Germany by Mikhail Shvydkoy, Putin’s cultural envoy, was also a possibility, the Germans reportedly told their Russian interlocutors. The Russian side is said to have pushed strongly for such a visit in recent months.
A Kremlin success
According to Die Zeit‘s information, the Germans also reportedly explained how this became feasible. Pofalla is said to have asked State Secretary Géza Andreas von Geyr at the Foreign Office in Berlin whether a visit by Shvydkoy to Germany would be possible. Von Geyr then approached Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of the CDU, who agreed. This means there is no formal obstacle to a trip by Shvydkoy.
Nearly four years after the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, this would be the first visit by a member of the Russian government, and a political success for the Kremlin, facilitated by the network surrounding Pofalla.
Die Zeit sent the German Foreign Office a list of questions regarding the meeting in Abu Dhabi and Shvydkoy’s potential visit. The Foreign Office responded briefly that the German government has no plans to resume the Petersburg Dialogue. It added that it continues to support a restrictive visa policy toward Russia within the European Union. The statement read, “After the start of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, the European Commission issued guidelines on the procedures for issuing Schengen visas. Following the Russian attack, EU and NATO states significantly limited, but did not sever, their relations with the Russian Federation.”
The question of whether Shvydkoy would receive a visa for Germany remained unanswered. Ronald Pofalla, Martin Hoffmann, and Matthias Platzeck did not respond to Die Zeit’s inquiries by the editorial deadline.
Contacts between politicians and representatives of the Russian government have repeatedly sparked controversy. Most recently, even within the far-right AfD there was criticism when one of the party’s members of parliament traveled to Sochi for a meeting.
The Baku networkers around Pofalla now appear to be planning reciprocal visits. “In the end, only the Putin regime benefits from such initiatives,” says Agnieszka Brugger, deputy chair of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag. “The leadership of the CDU and SPD must not tolerate the Moscow connection within their own ranks. If there are indeed plans to meet explicitly with Putin’s enforcers, the German government must do everything it can to prevent them.”
Stefan Meister, a Russia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, also warns that a visit by Shvydkoy would send a disastrous signal. “The brutality of Russian attacks on Ukraine has intensified, and Russia is not willing to compromise,” he says. “If a government representative were allowed to enter under these circumstances, Germany would undermine its own policy of sanctions and isolation.”
Granting Shvydkoy a visa, Meister argues, would amount to “a loss of credibility for Germany, violating its own principles.”
Mikhail Shvydkoy and Alice Weidel
The idea that Mikhail Shvydkoy in particular should travel to Germany as a sort of Kremlin envoy is quite plausible. Shvydkoy is not on any sanctions list and has had excellent ties with Germany for years. Initially, these ties revolved around music and theater, later expanding into more politically significant areas. During the years of détente, he was a welcome guest. He attended a conference on raw materials in Saxony and took part in a panel on German-Russian relations in Berlin. A devotee of Thomas Mann, Shvydkoy was considered the Kremlin’s friendly face. He was regarded as more liberal than many others who attended such events.
If Shvydkoy were to travel to Germany again, he would hardly come to watch Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake performed by the Berlin State Ballet. His activities extend far beyond cultural matters. In July, in an article published in the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, he called for a return to Soviet-style censorship in Russia. His goal is to establish clear guidelines for the system. In Europe, he maintains contact not only with former officials like Pofalla, but also with AfD leader Alice Weidel, whom he met in 2021.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Shvydkoy has visited the European Union at least twice: two years ago in Hungary, and last year when Austria issued him a visa. At the Russian Cultural Institute in Vienna in March 2024, he met with a small group of Russian compatriots. He then traveled on to Slovakia. At a memorial to Soviet soldiers killed in World War II, he laid flowers with Prime Minister Robert Fico. Slovakia is a divided country, he later said, adding: “At the same time, there are people who openly support Russia.”
Shvydkoy has not been to Germany for quite some time. Yet he must have fond memories of the country, including receiving the German Russian Forum Prize in 2018. Matthias Platzeck delivered the laudatory speech, praising Shvydkoy’s impressive record of “unique commitment.” But that was not the only honor bestowed on the man who has served the Kremlin for decades. In 2010, he was even awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by President Christian Wulff for his contributions to cultural exchange.
Die Zeit also sent Shvydkoy a list of questions about his travel plans. Through his office, he said he was currently very busy and unfortunately could not respond before the end of the year.
