Contents tagged with Germany

  • Germany considers easing sanction on Russia

    German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier declared that the federal government has considered the possibility of easing economic sanctions against Russia if the latter meets a number of conditions. Steinmeier made the comment during an interview with Spiegel, part of which was published on Friday, May 27th, on the Spiegel website.

    "I always believed sanctions themselves are not the goal. Only when there is progress in implementing the Minsk agreements can we talk about easing sanctions," …

  • Kiev demands explanation from Germany after Minister suggested lifting sanctions on Russia

    Ukraine has demanded an explanation following the remarks of German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel about the gradual lifting of sanctions against Russia.

    German newspaper Tagesspiegel quotes the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk as saying "We sent a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking to clarify whether this view is the position of the federal government.”

    He added that in Kiev "the words of Gabriel were received with bitterness and …

  • Merkel calls for maintaining sanctions against Russia

    The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, stated on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Japan that G7 countries want to preserve sanctions against Russia, Finanznachrichten.de reported. “As for me, it is too early to talk about lifting or easing of sanctions,” Merkel said. 

    “We should do everything in our power to make progress in the political settlement in the coming weeks. There are no large-scale hostilities but there is no stable truce either,” the Chancellor of Germany stated, adding that …

  • Germany suspects Russian involvement in a series of cyber-attacks

    The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany, which deals with counter-intelligence activities, suspects that Russian special services are responsible for a series of cyber-attacks against German government agencies, DW reported.

    “These operations of the Russian special services have apparently continued for 7-11 years,” the Office said in a statement.

    The German Office also has evidence that Russian intelligence agencies organized a powerful cyber-attack on the …

  • Ukrainian Foreign Ministry: No consensus was reached on elections in the Donbas during Berlin meeting

    At their meeting in Berlin, the Foreign Ministers of the Normandy Four were unable to reach a consensus with Russia regarding Kiev’s conditions for elections in Donbas. This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine in reference to statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin.

    “We have not come to an agreement. Russia has presented their own versions of the electoral legislation. I have told the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, that we are perfectly capable of …

  • Steinmeier: the Minsk Agreements are being implemented at a snail’s pace

    The head of the German Foreign Ministry believes that the diplomatic efforts of France and Germany were instrumental in prevention of a war in Europe.

    At the same time the progress in the implementation of the Minsk Agreements is comparable to a snail's pace. According to the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Germany, this was stated by the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the eve of the twelfth meeting of the Normandy Four.

    Steinmeier fears that the work on the …

  • Germany to expand its army due to tensions with Russia

    Germany plans to increase the size of its armed forces for the first time since 1990 due to tensions with Russia. “The Bundeswehr is expected to recruit an additional 14,300 troops over the next seven years; 4,400 civilian staff will be recruited as well,” Ursula von der Leyen, the German Minister of Defense, said on Tuesday.

    According to her, the expansion of the German army is necessary, owing to the current situation of increased tensions with Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine and also …

  • New negotiations of the 'Normandy Format' to be held in Berlin

    German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has requested that representatives of the Normandy Four hold a meeting focusing on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.

    He has invited his colleagues from Russia, Ukraine and France to discuss a way to resolve the crisis in the Donbas. Negotiations in the Normandy Format will be held on the 11th of May in Berlin.

    “I consider it necessary to make a new attempt to overcome the relationship barrier between Kiev and Moscow. Too much time has …

  • Germany considers it unlikely for Russia to return to the G8

    According to unnamed sources in a Der Spiegel report, the current format of the G7 is unlikely to be re-expanded to the G8 to include Russia, the Office of the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, stated, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

    "The G8 format is dead," the source in the agency said. Merkel's staff is skeptical that Moscow will be able to fulfill the conditions for their return to the Group of Eight.

    According to the journal's information, the US authorities are against the …

  • Berlin confirms its plan to send German soldiers to Lithuania

    On April 29th, after a meeting with the Prime Minister of Latvia, Māris Kučinskis, the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, announced the involvement of the Bundeswehr in the policy of Russian containment along the eastern borders of NATO, Deutsche Welle reported.

    “I want to emphasize the fact that it is extremely important for us to operate within the NATO-Russia Agreement,” Merkel said. At the same time, she expressed her hope to intensify the dialogue between Russia and the Alliance.

    “We …