Contents tagged with Germany

  • German liberals support sanctions against Russia

    A vast majority of German delegates supported continuing sanctions against the Russian Federation during a vote on Sunday, May 13, at the Free Democratic Party (FDP) congress in Berlin, DW reports. Vice Chairman of the FDP, Wolfgang Kubicki, initiated the discussion after calling for a “critical review” of sanctions imposed by the West. This resulted in fierce debates within the party, and as a result, the majority of party members did not support Kubicki’s proposal.

    During the debate, …

  • Germany promises Russia that sanctions will remain until Crimea is returned

    The anti-Russian sanctions will be maintained until the reason they were introduced is eliminated. A statement to this effect was made by German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmeier in an interview with the German radio station Deutschlandfunk.

    He drew attention to the fact that the sanction pressure on Russia was initiated following the Kremlin’s decision to annex the Crimean peninsula.

    “After the annexation of Crimea, we Europeans introduced sanctions together with the US. …

  • German Economic Minister visits Kyiv

    On Sunday, May 13, the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier arrived for a scheduled state visit in Kyiv. He immediately held a meeting with representatives of German business in Ukraine, dpa news reports.

    At a press conference in Berlin that took place just before his departure to Kyiv, Altmaier stated that he intended to call on the authorities of Ukraine and Russia to create a "common energy policy concept." According to the Minister, the purpose of the …

  • German Environmentalists try to ban Nord Stream 2 construction through the courts

    Deutsche Welle (DW) reports that the German environmental association Nabu is seeking a decision through the courts to prevent planned work on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on May 10 at a site in the Greifswald Bodden.

    "Nabu has requested an interim decree from the Greifswald Supreme Administrative Court in order to enable the court to take a decision on action against the construction of the gas pipeline before May 15," the publication quoted a statement from the …

  • Ukrainian President Poroshenko meets with Merkel and Macron in Germany

    On Thursday May 10, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron met in the German city of Aachen. The key topics of the trilateral negotiations were sanctions against Russia, the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and the matter of peacekeepers in the Donbas.

    At the meeting, the heads of state discussed the possibility of placing new sanctions on Russia for holding illegal elections in annexed Crimea.

    “Obviously we spoke …

  • French and German Foreign Ministers expect Russia’s 'constructive contribution' to resolving the crisis in the Donbas

    Germany and France expect Vladimir Putin’s "constructive participation in resolving international conflicts." Russia should help resolve the crises in Syria and Ukraine, as well as other problems, Foreign Minister of Germany Heiko Maas stated during a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Berlin on Monday, May 7, Radio Liberty reported. According to the German ambassador, Berlin and Paris are interested in dialogue with Moscow and expect from it "constructive contribution …

  • Media: Merkel invited Trump to visit his ancestral homeland in Germany

    During a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday, German Chancellor Angela President Trump to visit the homeland of his ancestors, the village of Kallstadt in the federal state of the Rhineland-Palatinate from where his grandparents emigrated in the 19th century, Bild reported on Sunday with reference to sources in the German delegation.

    According to the publication, this was Merkel’s way of reminding Trump that he has a special bond with Germany. In addition, she presented to the …

  • Merkel and Trump discuss Ukraine during their meeting

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated she and US President Donald Trump discussed the state of Ukraine during a recent conference, Ukrinform reports.

    “Of course, we talked about Ukraine, which is where we work very closely together in regard to Russia’s actions concerning the occupation of Crimea and the situation in the east of Ukraine,” Merkel stated.

    Merkel stated that she is pleased with the fact that the U.S. administration works very closely on this issue with its partners, which …

  • Ukrainian armored vehicles arrived in Germany for international military exercises

    A unit of Ukrainian military vehicles and their crews, seven BTR-80 armored personnel carriers and five T-84 main battle tanks arrived in the Federal Republic of Germany where they will take part in the Combined Resolve X international military exercises, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported.

    "Today, April 24, Ukrainian military equipment arrived at the military training area near the city of Hohenfels (Germany) to participate in Combined Resolve X international exercises," the report of …

  • German Defense Minister: Russia should be pressured by sanctions until it fulfills promises made at Minsk

    Deutsche Welle reports that German Defense Minister Ursula Von der Leyen called for a tougher line against Moscow during an interview with Bild am Sonntag published on Sunday, April 22. "President Putin doesn’t appreciate weakness," she said.

    According to the Minister, by means of sanctions it is necessary "to insist on Russia’s fulfillment of the promises made at Minsk" until the situation is mitigated.

    Von der Leyen believes that improvements in relations with Russia are hampered by a …