Berlin invites Russian minister to attend G20 agriculture meeting in Germany despite sanctions
Through a series of diplomatic maneuvers, the German government hopes to circumvent the EU’s travel ban for Russian Minister of Agriculture Aleksandr Tkachov, the DPA news agency reported.
Tkachov is on the list of Russians who are subject to sanctions and is thus prohibited from entering the EU due to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014. However, according to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to host the Russian minister on January 22.
In order to let Tkachov enter the EU, Berlin has raised the level of the scheduled G20 agriculture ministers meeting, giving it the status of an OSCE meeting. The RND explained that in the framework of the OSCE, the Council of Europe allows for individuals at the ministerial level and above to enter the EU even if they are officially prohibited from entering Europe due to sanctions.
The German Foreign Ministry has put Tkachov on the list of participants in the meeting of the heads of G20 agriculture ministries, and hopes to arrange a meeting between the him his German counterpart, Christian Schmidt.
The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Germany confirmed in writing its willingness to pay for a two-day stay in a hotel for Tkachov and an accompanying employee from the ministry.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany has not yet confirmed this information.