German Foreign Minister Calls for Intensive Dialogue with Russia

Russia can contribute to the solution of many international problems, an intensive dialogue between Moscow and Berlin is needed to form a positive agenda that could start a new dynamic in relations between the two countries, said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, welcoming the participants of the 23rd annual conference of Potsdam Meetings, which this year addresses the topic “Germany-Russia-EU: the Pandemic and Its Consequences for Foreign and Security Policy”. The conference is held online with a view to the measures taken globally given the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. “We need an intensive dialogue, specifically between our countries, between governments, parliaments and societies ... Only in this way can we create a positive agenda as a basis for a new dynamic,” said Maas, his letter was read out by a representative of the German Embassy in the Russian Federation. “When it comes to the supply of protective equipment or the vaccines development, only by combined forces we will defeat this virus. In this sense, we intend to build our presidency of the EU Council in the second half of the year and participate in the framework of our temporary membership in the UN Security Council - for the sake of a multilateral solution. What does this mean for Russian-German relations? The events of 2014 burdened relations between our two countries, as well as between Russia and the West. Added to this are many further crises and conflicts. It’s clear for us, Germans, that consistent decisions can only be achieved within a multilateral framework and that Russia can contribute to many decisions,” said Maas. The minister added that “the world is facing challenges that have never been seen before in connection with the coronavirus”. In this regard, the German Foreign Ministry “with great interest” is watching the growing contacts of the ministers of health and departments of Russia and Germany in the context of cooperation related to overcoming the coronavirus pandemic. According to the minister, these contacts “are held regularly”. The Potsdam Meetings, initiated by Federal President Roman Herzog in 1999, are held annually in the form of a conference. They regularly gather senior representatives of politics, business, culture and other public figures from Germany and Russia in order to achieve a deeper understanding of each other and new forms of cooperation in discussing pressing issues. Since 2019, the format of the conference has been under the patronage of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Germany and Russia - Heiko Maas and Sergey Lavrov.