German lawmakers have urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to reach a deal with Moscow, similar to the US agreement, to obtain diesel supplies from Russia.

US President Donald Trump, who is under pressure to bring down fuel prices to ease the increasing cost of living in the United States, said on Friday he had reached a deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to buy diesel fuel for Americans from Russia in an attempt to stop rising energy prices that were hurting the country’s economy.

In Germany, as is the case in the United States, soaring fuel prices have put added pressure on industries and are hurting the country’s economy.

Following Trump’s example in striking a diesel deal with Putin, lawmakers from German opposition parties Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which together command a majority in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt’s parliament, on Saturday, called for restoring economic ties with Russia

“Germany also needs a diesel deal with Russia,” Claudia Wittig, the deputy leader of the BSW parliamentary group, said, according to German media.

Wittig said fuel prices at German filling stations are “a scandal,” adding that the sanctions have “failed across the board” and are primarily hurting Germany itself.

The Leftist lawmaker said the government should go further than limiting the country to a simple diesel fuel deal and resume regular oil and gas trade with Russia to restore the ailing economy of the European powerhouse affected by the increased cost of energy in the aftermath of the Ukraine-Russia war.

“We need policies that think more about Köthen than Kiev,” Wittig said earlier, referring to a German town in Saxony-Anhalt. “We can no longer afford this war.”

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In similar remarks, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel hailed Trump’s deal with Moscow, criticizing Merz for undermining Germany’s economy with sanctions and expensive liquefied natural gas imports.

“That’s how it’s done!” Weidel wrote on X. “While Merz ruins Germany with sanctions and expensive LNG, Trump practices realpolitik. German interests instead of escalation!”

AfD and BSW lawmakers have also slammed Barlin for giving priority to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s agenda over Germany’s national interests.

Merz is being rebuked for turning Germans into “cash cows for Ukraine.” His popularity level is so low that he might be forced to resign.

However, Merz government remains inflexible in its anti-Moscow policies, threatening to mount added political pressure and more sanctions against Russia.

Pro-government Green Party co-leader Franziska Brantner went as far as describing Trump’s unexpected diesel fuel deal with Putin as the ultimate act of “unscrupulousness.”

Berlin’s support for Kiev will remain “unwavering”, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius announced on Saturday.