Merkel holds bilateral talks with Russian President Putin on Ukraine agreement

On July 15, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the two leaders agreed to “peacefully resolve” the eastern Ukraine conflict and implement the Minsk agreement, spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement. Further, he added, the two leaders discussed the arms exports and trade embargo against Iran and the current state in Libya. In a momentum towards a de-escalation of five and a half years of conflict in eastern Ukraine, Germany and Russia had reached a settlement for the discord at the Paris summit resulting in the Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists to pull out from frontline towns in Ukraine.

Merkel spoke about the implementation of the peace deals that Germany intervened and brokered in early September 2014 with Russia after more than 13,000 people and 50 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Russia-Ukrainian conflict. While eastern Ukraine announced the unilateral ceasefire in the conflict, the Minsk agreements couldn't be implemented in the region. Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel exchanged views on the developments in Libya. Merkel spoke to Putin about the ongoing civil war in Libya which has killed at least 8,700 people since 2014, saying, she hoped Turkish-Russian could broker a peace deal.

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In a discussion about the situation around Iran, the President of Russia emphasized the uselessness of sanctions pressure on Tehran with Chancellor Merkel as he acknowledged the importance of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme, approved by UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Further, several other issues on the bilateral agenda, including joint efforts against the spread of the coronavirus, were talked about by the two leaders.

Prepare for "strategic relations" with Russia

Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that the European Union “has to prepare for a resumption of dialogue on strategic relations with Russia".  Stressing on Germany’s stance on the construction of the Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline target of US sanctions that would deliver Russian gas to Germany, Mass said Germany “will not change its decision on the project”. He added, “We believe that it is an issue of diversification of our energy supply sources," in an official statement.  

Germany had to prepare to talk about strategic relations with Russia more substantially. I think that we should prepare for this. That is why we will address this issue during our presidency of the EU Council—Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a press conference.

Also, earlier at the start of 2020, Chancellor Angela Merkel had met Russian President Vladimir Putin amid tensions in the Middle East to discuss “current international questions” involving Syria, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, and bilateral ties. Steffen Seibert, the chancellor’s spokesman, said at a conference, “Russia is an important player on the world stage and as a permanent member of the (U.N.) Security Council it’s also indispensable when it comes to solving political conflicts.” 

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(images: AP)