Merkel: EU Must Seek ’Direct Contact’ With Putin to Settle Differences

By Staff, Agencies

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that the European Union had to create a "format for dialogue" with Russia and its President Vladimir Putin to settle differences.

"In my opinion, we as the European Union must also seek direct contact with Russia and the Russian president", Merkel told the Bundestang. Climate and security were among the EU's common strategic interests with Russia, the chancellor argued.

She added that it was "not enough for the American president [Joe Biden] to talk to the Russian president."

Meanwhile, Merkel said that the EU had to develop common mechanisms to be able to respond to Russia's policies in tandem with one another, while standing against "provocations" from Moscow.

The statement follows the Putin-Biden summit held in Geneva last week, as the two met to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries that have recently hit a low.

Among the most profound topics of disagreement are the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is set to bring 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Germany each year, bypassing Ukraine. Washington believes that the project is threatening to European security as it gives Russia too much power in the region, despite Moscow's assurances that it is purely economic in nature. Germany is adamant to keep the construction going.

Merkel was the one willing to see Putin at the summit of European leaders to steer the EU toward "closer engagement with Russia," the Financial Times previously revealed, citing sources familiar with diplomatic discussions on the subject.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that this information has left the country with "very deep concern" over its apparent "deviation from the EU sanctions policy" towards Russia.

Putin previously said in a lengthy piece for the German newspaper Die Zeit that Moscow was ready to restore relations with Europe, despite the EU's lack of cooperation regarding NATO's expansion to the East.

Despite a flurry of accusations about Russia's attempts to escalate internal tensions in Ukraine following the coup, Putin has continued to pressure for the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which stipulate a ceasefire between Kiev and the self-proclaimed republics in the eastern Ukraine, which are seeking independence.