The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) defended her party’s stance toward Russia in a weekend interview with dpa, denying allegations that AfD politicians are too cozy with the Kremlin. “It is simply important to me that a very balanced view of things is not confused with an alleged closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Alice Weidel told dpa. Weidel, however, argued that the German government must strike more “balance” in its relationship with Russia and Ukraine. Russia launched a bloody full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the German government …