End of Putin Meeting; Merkel: We Must Continue Negotiations

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, stated on Tuesday, April 12, after meeting with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, that Berlin and Moscow must continue negotiations despite their disagreements. The meeting took place in Sochi, in southwestern Russia, marking Merkel's first visit to Russia since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. She supports the European Union's sanctions against Russia in this context. Earlier, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, had told Russian officials that the EU seeks better relations with the country but cannot overlook the annexation of Crimea, and sanctions against Russia will continue. According to Reuters, the German Chancellor, who participated in a press conference with the Russian President, said, "I have always believed that even if we have serious disagreements in some areas, we must continue to negotiate." It was evident from the statements and even the expressions of Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin that they have serious disagreements on issues such as Syria, Ukraine, human rights in Russia, and allegations of Moscow's interference in other countries' elections. Prior to this meeting, Putin had told reporters that the negotiations would focus on bilateral relations and "very sensitive issues such as Ukraine and Russia." During the joint press conference with the German Chancellor, he described the allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. elections as "a rumor" and stated, "We never interfere in the political developments and political processes of other countries, and we do not want anyone to interfere in our political developments and foreign policy." Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, stated last month that after the conclusion of investigations regarding the allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. elections, Donald Trump would fully support decisive actions against Moscow. According to Reuters, the German Chancellor and the Russian President agreed on the necessity of fully implementing the Minsk Agreement regarding the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The Minsk Agreement, adopted on February 12, 2015, outlines a roadmap for achieving lasting peace and calls for a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatist groups. However, this agreement has never been fully implemented, which has hindered governance by the central government. Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainian central government of creating the current situation in eastern Ukraine with its policies and attempting to separate from the country. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government and Western countries accuse Moscow of supporting separatist groups and supplying military equipment to them. Moscow denies these allegations. The Russian President also commented on the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, which Western countries claim was carried out by Syrian government forces, stating that this has not been proven. However, the New York-based Human Rights Watch reported on Monday, April 11, that based on new evidence, Syrian government forces have used substances suspected of being nerve agents in four attacks since December 2016, including the Khan Sheikhoun attack that left around 100 dead. The Assad government has denied the allegations of a chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun. According to Reuters, the German Chancellor expressed her concerns regarding the Russian police's crackdown on anti-government protests and shared her worries about issues raised by human rights organizations with Vladimir Putin. Angela Merkel emphasized the importance of respecting the right to protest in a civil society and the violations of non-governmental organizations during her negotiations with the Russian President. Meanwhile, Putin denied the allegations of police violations against protesters, stating that the conduct of law enforcement agencies in Russia is better than in some European countries, without naming any of them. Merkel's visit to Russia coincided with a scheduled phone call between Donald Trump, the President of the United States, and his Russian counterpart regarding the Syrian war.