Exactly one year after the attack on Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday, August 20. Despite the “deep differences”, we are still talking to each other – said the head of the German government before speaking to the host of the meeting. At the late press conference, apart from the exchange of respect, there were also controversies.

The Russian president spoke of “constructive” negotiations in a “business” environment. He praised Merkel, who is expected to step down from politics in a few months.

In a mining field

Putin began on the topic of Afghanistan and said efforts should be made to prevent the radical Islamic Taliban force from spreading beyond the country’s borders. He accused the West of trying to “impose values” on Afghanistan.

The leader of the Kremlin later turned to the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking about ceasefire violations in the east of the country, he called on Merkel to exert influence over the government in Kiev on Sunday. In his speech, the President also touched on the conflict in Belarus, Iran and Syria.

“You have to start paying.” Government restructuring must be fast and “very deep”

Demand for “a little objective”

When asked by a journalist what he would do to oust Alexei Navalny, Putin replied: “I want to emphasize that he is not guilty of his political actions, but of violating certain rules.” As for the Russian courts and their decisions, “please respect them,” he said. At the same time, he stressed that all Russian citizens have the right to express their views, including on political issues – but only within the framework of the law. Russian officials will do “everything” to maintain a stable situation, Putin insisted.

“Navalny’s sentence is unacceptable”

Merkel began her speech by recalling the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany 80 years ago and noting that she would wear an evening gown to an unknown soldier’s grave on Friday. However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Russian President Alexei Navalny. “In our view, imprisonment in a penal colony on the basis of previous convictions is something that the European Court of Human Rights has found to be inconsistent and unacceptable,” the Chancellor said. “We will continue to work on this,” he declared.

The prosecutor’s office has a notice about Kaczyaski and the reconsideration

Disappointment of the Taliban

Merkel also noted the current situation in Afghanistan, calling on Putin to help rescue local Afghan aides.

As he noted, the German government’s priority at this time is to bring as many aid workers to Germany as possible during its 20 – year NATO mission. Putin, the head of the German government, was asked to insist in talks with the Taliban that it would be better to cooperate with aides on humanitarian issues if they could leave Afghanistan. “It’s very frustrating to see the Taliban coming back and how they control the country,” Merkel clarified. However, she thinks we should try to talk to them now.

The President reiterated that the terrorist threat posed by Afghanistan had been eliminated by the West. “But it was not permanently removed.” However, not all goals were achieved further.

“Crimea annexation violates Ukraine’s integrity”

The Chancellor also noted the situation in Ukraine. He spoke in support of “renewing the talks” to help resolve the conflict in the east of the country. Finally, he stressed the well-known position of Berlin and other Western powers that “the annexation of Crimea violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

Referring to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Merkel recalled the agreement between Germany and the United States on the project. At the same time, he spoke in support of Ukraine becoming Russia’s gas transportation nation – even after the launch of Nord Stream 2.

The two were teenage brothers who fell from a plane in Kabul

Not easy conversations

“These are not always easy conversations,” the German chancellor said, summarizing his many years of experience with President Vladimir Putin. However, as she insisted, there is no alternative to exchanging arguments over and over again and saying “hard nuts to explode”. Although the political systems of Germany and Russia “walked away” during her tenure, despite significant differences, we were able to keep the communication channel open, Angela Merkel summed up.

(DW, DPA, AFP / Jar)

From the article serwisu Deutsche Welle.