German Foreign Minister: Berlin sees no grounds for lifting sanctions against Russia
Germany sees no reason for lifting EU sanctions against Russia. “No” was German Chancellor’s Official Spokesperson Steffen Seibert’s laconic reply to the question posed to him on Wednesday, April 3, by a DW correspondent - "Should German Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier’s participation in the opening ceremony of the Mercedes assembly plant in Yesipovo, located near Moscow, be seen as Berlin’s departure from the policy of sanctions against the Russian Federation?"
“Sanctions against Russia were imposed for several specific reasons,” Seibert said at a press conference. “And the sanctions can only be lifted if these reasons disappear, the reasons being Russia’s annexation of Crimea in violation of international law, Russia’s military destabilization of the situation in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s failure to comply with the provisions of the Minsk Agreement.”
As Altmeier’s Press Secretary Annika Einhorn explained, there is nothing extraordinary about the Minister for Economic Affairs participation in a German company’s opening ceremony abroad. This has happened before, in fact, he often visits industrial enterprises during his trips abroad, she said.
According to Einhorn, apart from his participation in the opening ceremony of the Mercedes plant, Altmeier’s current visit to Russia includes negotiations with President Vladimir Putin, the Rusiaan Minister of Energy Alexander Novak and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. “The subject of these meetings is the opportunities and problems for German business in Russia,” she said.