Merkel and Putin to discuss Afghanistan, other 'big' issues

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BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin are acceptable to clasp talks successful Moscow connected Friday amid the situation unfolding successful Afghanistan and arsenic Russia's attraction of absorption person Alexei Navalny and Ukraine stay a root of ongoing hostility betwixt the 2 leaders' countries.

Other challenging issues that are definite to play a relation successful the gathering are a state pipeline betwixt Russia and Germany opposed by the United States, the repression of dissent successful Belarus, and allegations that the Belarusian authorities has channeled migrants into Latvia, Lithuania and Poland with the purpose of destabilizing the European Union.

Merkel’s sojourn to Moscow comes arsenic the chancellor is nearing the extremity of her astir 16-year-long enactment of Germany. She and Putin, who has served arsenic Russia's president oregon premier curate since 2000, managed to support a enactment of connection implicit the years contempt their galore governmental differences.

However, the idiosyncratic narration betwixt the 2 has deteriorated since 2014, erstwhile Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and backed separatist rebels successful eastbound Ukraine, and arsenic a effect of different authoritarian actions by Moscow.

Friday's talks successful Moscow volition “surely beryllium astir the large outstanding planetary questions,” Merkel spokesperson Steffen Seibert told reporters successful Berlin earlier this week. “Obviously Afghanistan. Furthermore, the struggle successful eastbound Ukraine, for the solution and colony of which Russia could bash overmuch more."

"Belarus, a country, a dictator, who goes against his ain radical successful the worst benignant of mode and connected whom the Russian enactment has power arsenic we believe,” Seibert added arsenic helium listed imaginable talking points.

Merkel is heading to Russia connected the day of Navalny falling gravely sick portion connected a level flying implicit Siberia connected Aug. 20, 2020. At his wife's insistence, the absorption person was transferred for aesculapian attraction to Germany, wherever officials said tests revealed helium had been poisoned with a Soviet-developed nervus agent.

Navalny, who is Putin’s astir outspoken critic, spent 5 months successful Germany recovering and blamed the poisoning connected the Kremlin. Russian authorities person rejected the accusation.

Upon his instrumentality to Russia successful January, Navalny was instantly arrested and jailed. A period later, helium was ordered to service 2½ years successful situation for violating the presumption of a suspended condemnation from a 2014 embezzlement condemnation that helium dismissed arsenic politically motivated.

“This inactive unsolved lawsuit is putting a precise terrible load connected the narration to Russia,” Seibert said. “Mr. Navalny is wrongfully imprisoned.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a lengthy connection Wednesday astir “the Navalny case," charging that actions by “Germany and its allies” implicit the past 12 months indicated “a planned provocation aimed astatine discrediting Russia successful the eyes of the planetary assemblage and astatine damaging its nationalist interests.”

The ministry accused Berlin of failing to supply grounds that would enactment their “brazen allegations” that Navalny was poisoned with a nervus agent. It said Germany near ineligible requests from Russian instrumentality enforcement without immoderate “meaningful answers” and alternatively played “bureaucratic ping-pong” with Moscow.

Merkel, 67, who grew up successful communist East Germany and is fluent successful Russian, has ever stressed that relations with Russia tin lone amended done dialogue. Her sojourn to Moscow volition beryllium 1 of her past trips overseas arsenic chancellor since she is not moving successful Germany's nationalist predetermination adjacent month.

Putin, 68, who has been successful powerfulness for much than 20 years, is Russia’s longest-serving person since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Under communism successful the 1980s, helium worked for the Soviet's quality work KGB successful East Germany.

Despite his and Merkel's years of acquisition arsenic leaders and with each other, experts are skeptical Friday's gathering volition amended the ties betwixt Germany and Russia.

“Russia has go an authoritarian regime,” Stefan Meister, a governmental expert with the German Council connected Foreign Relations told The Associated Press. “It is nary longer funny successful improving relations with the west.”

The deterioration of relations betwixt the 2 countries is mirrored successful the worsening of the idiosyncratic narration of their longtime leaders, Meister said.

“Mrs. Merkel, arsenic an East German and with her background, close from the commencement understood amended than her predecessors however Russia works and however Putin operates. There ever was a matter-of-fact relationship...based connected respect," Meister said, adding that each changed with the opening of equipped hostilities successful eastbound Ukraine.

“The large interruption was the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Meister added.

Fighting betwixt Russia-backed separatists and authorities forces successful eastbound Ukraine erupted aft Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and has near much than 14,000 dead.

Efforts to negociate a governmental colony nether the 2015 Minsk agreements brokered by France and Germany person stalled, and the EU has imposed sanctions against Russia for failing to unrecorded up to its bid commitments successful Ukraine.

Merkel plans to question backmost to Berlin connected Friday nighttime and to caput to Kyiv connected Sunday to conscionable with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Another taxable of treatment with Putin volition apt beryllium the astir finished Nord Stream 2 pipeline that volition transportation earthy state from Russia to Germany. The task has angered the United States and immoderate European countries, but the U.S. and Germany announced a woody past period to let its completion.

Critics accidental the pipeline threatens European vigor security, heightens Russia’s power and poses risks to Ukraine and Poland successful bypassing some countries.

Regarding Belarus, Merkel earlier this week accused President Alexander Lukashenko of a “hybrid attack” against the EU by encouraging migrants to transverse the borders into Lithuania, Latvia and Poland successful retaliation to the EU’s sanctions against Belarus.

Merkel said she would rise the taxable with Putin.

Belarus depends heavy connected Russian vigor supplies and Moscow has authorized loans to prop up the country’s beleaguered economy.

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Frank Jordans and Dorothee Thiesing contributed reporting from Berlin, Daria Litvinova contributed reporting from Moscow.

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