The `golden era` of Russia and Germany under Prime Minister Angela Merkel and President Vladimir Putin will end, but bilateral cooperation will not stop.
Angela Merkel will make her last visit to Moscow as German Chancellor, meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 20.
According to announcements from both sides, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will go to Moscow and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 20.
This is the first time Mrs. Merkel has come to Moscow since January 2020.
However, that wasn’t the only factor that made this visit noteworthy.
Resolve disagreements
First, on August 12, Britain and Germany coordinated to arrest a former employee of the British Embassy in Berlin in Potsdam (Germany) suspected of being a Russian spy.
According to the German Prosecutor’s Office, David Smith, 57 years old, British national, has transferred documents to Russian intelligence in exchange for cash since November 2020.
German Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Christofer Burger affirmed that this was a serious incident and criticized espionage activities by allied citizens as `unacceptable`.
This is the latest incident in countless incidents in Russia-Germany relations under Merkel, such as the cyber attack on the Bundestag in 2015, the Georgian citizen of Chechen origin allegedly assassinated in Berlin in 2019, and the political incident.
In addition, Germany and the European Union (EU) in general still support Ukraine and maintain their opposition to Russia’s sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula.
However, bilateral relations under German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin are relatively stable.
Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Putin regularly talk on the phone, most recently on July 21.
Perhaps Prime Minister Angela Merkel wants to soon solve the problem of the Nord Stream 2 project, creating a premise for her successor to strengthen relations with all parties, thereby ending the era of power in an unimaginable way.
Beautiful ending
In that context, all parties expect that Angela Merkel’s final visit to Russia as German Prime Minister will create a premise for her successor to continue building bilateral relations.
According to the Kremlin, the two leaders will discuss the prospects for developing bilateral cooperation in various fields, as well as a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Speaking on July 22, German Chancellor Angela Merkel affirmed: `We always negotiate with any country based on values and interests. I believe we should be open in maintaining our relationship.`
Commenting on this visit, researcher at the German Research Center of the European Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Kamkin said that Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Putin will discuss energy and common security of Europe.
At the same time, Germany and Russia will continue to seek common ground on the Ukraine issue.
Meanwhile, expert Konstantin Blokhin at the Center for Security Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences believes that the topic of the Nord Stream 2 project will be the focus of the upcoming discussion between the leaders of Russia and Germany.
This opinion is well-founded if one looks at the series of visits by Prime Minister Angela Merkel.
Perhaps Prime Minister Angela Merkel wants to soon solve the problem of the Nord Stream 2 project, creating a premise for her successor to strengthen relations with all parties, thereby ending the era of power in an unimaginable way.
