... the possibility of selective engagement on areas of common interest and stating the way out for the toughest of the problems that stand between us, that is Eastern Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
Speaking about the Council of Europe, of which Germany is taking over the chairmanship today, my government worked hard in support of readmitting Russia to the parliamentary Assembly one and a half years ago.
And concerning the OSCE, we very much hope for more Russian engagement.
Currently Russia ...
... between the United States and Russia is extremely difficult at best, and, at worst, in a state of limbo for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, France and the United Kingdom are still nuclear powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council. And Germany has been a non-permanent member since the beginning of 2019. Maybe it is time for European leaders to show the same kind of political will and imagination in the nuclear sphere that they demonstrated in 2003.
Andrey Kortunov:
The World After the INF Treaty: How to Get Out of the Dead Zone
The future of nuclear arms control (if it ...
..., elites are divided. Four groups can be teased out. The first divide lies between those who argue that the liberal West is on the right track to face up to today’s challenges and those who argue that a change of track is vital.
Alexander Kamkin:
Germany's European Leadership: Hegemony against One's Will?
Those who believe that the West is on the right track disagree on which gear to use. There are those who argue that the current gear is right (Group 1). These people fear change. They fear to lose their ...
... support for leaders and political parties always go up and down. This is nothing new for Germany and France. Strong countries are strong because they strive for continuity in their domestic and foreign policies. For Berlin and Paris, and for the France–Germany tandem, the European project has always been and always will be a top priority.
The deterioration of the international situation cuts both ways. It does not so much create difficulties for the European Union as it pushes it towards bolstering its unity and independence ...
... Poland and the Baltic states, Germany has no identity problems, meaning that it can afford a more pragmatic and unbiased policy. At present, German diplomacy is capable of proposing and consistently implementing security-related compromise solutions. If Germany manages to lead the process of building a new European security architecture and find solutions to key problems in relations with Russia, then Berlin's political role on the international arena will change radically. The Baltic region could become an excellent testing ground for new approaches. Germany ...
... Responsibility».
This annual event gathered German politicians, parliament members, diplomats, and experts. The event was organized by
Willy Brandt Group
in cooperation with
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
; the topic for discussion centered around the role of Germany in European and global politics, possible work streams for regional and global crises management, and ways to enhance the efficiency of the dialog between Berlin and its international partners and opponents.
Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, made a ...
... all over the post-Soviet space, with businesses following suit. Before the Russia-EU freeze in 2014, Russia had been swept by more than
six thousand German firms
, only proving that German diplomacy and businesses go hand in hand helping each other.
Germany's European policy rejects any sort of hint of military confrontation, while the focus is on dynamic engagement of business for advancing German leadership in Europe, first of all in East Europe. As a matter of fact, the German economy is explicitly export-oriented ...
... relations, while the German participants stated that the German foreign policy priority is maintaining EU cohesion and that is why we need Russia-EU trust-building. They emphasized that Germany places a lot of priority on its relations with its Eastern-European neighbors, which is why rebuilding trust between Germany and Russia should involve (apart from settling the conflict in the Ukraine) (re)building trust between Russia and Eastern Europe. According to them, Russia needs to take a more active approach in its relations with these countries, encouraging ...
On October 23-24, 2015, RIAC Program Director Ivan Timofeyev was in Berlin at
conference
“Back to the Future? Ideas and Strategies of retrograde Modernization in Russia and Post-Soviet Space” organized by the
German Association of East European Studies
within project network “Institutions and Institutional Change in Postsocialism.”
The event was attended by prominent scholars and experts from West and East Europe, among them President of Munich Security Conference Wolfgang ...
... every nation in Europe is so easily condescending with fulfilling any of Berlin's desires. First Among Equals? Indeed, the Russian Federation is not the only country whose relations grew cold with Berlin. If we take a look no further than inside the European Union itself, it is no mystery that Germany has to be reckoned as one of the preeminent driving forces of the community. This is due especially to its economic leadership, which is complimented by its preponderous political influence on the decisions of the EU's organs. But all great accomplishments ...
