BERLIN, January 17. /TASS/. Co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Tino Chrupalla, has called on the German government to engage in dialogue with Moscow to end the "escalation spiral" in Ukraine in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"The federal government must finally talk to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Chrupalla noted.

On January 14, speaking at a New Year’s reception for business representatives in Halle, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Russia a "European country" and expressed hope for achieving a balance in relations with its "the largest European neighbor.".