Sochi : German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in her first visit to Russia since 2015, signalling renewed dialogue between Berlin and Moscow.
The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscow’s ties with the EU have plunged to a post-Cold War low. Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Moscow for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backing the pro- Russian separatist insurgency in the east of the country.
Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West.
In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was “not frozen” but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.
Merkel’s visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries’ relations “to fully normalise”, while meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.
