{German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday the Group of Seven industrialised nations should welcome back Russia in the longer term, striking a different tone from Chancellor Angela Merkel.
\n}<\/p>\n
Speaking after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin three days before a G7 summit in Bavaria, Steinmeier said excluding Russia over its actions in Ukraine was a necessary step but not a goal in itself.<\/p>\n
“I believe that we cannot have an interest in keeping the G7 format a G7 format in the long term,” Steinmeier, whose Social Democrats (SPD) rule in coalition with Chancellor Merkel’s conservatives, told journalists.<\/p>\n
“A look at the world shows that we need Russia as a constructive partner in a number of conflicts,” he said, citing the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, has struck a tougher tone towards Russia. In an interview with broadcaster RTL, she said the G7 nations shared common values about democracy.<\/p>\n
“It is exactly that group that should sit at the table,” she said. Merkel said it was a loss not to have Russia at the table, but its violations of Europe’s post-war peaceful order made this unavoidable.<\/p>\n
At their news conference, Klimkin asked that the G7 send “simple and clear messages to Russia”. He and Steinmeier condemned the recent upsurge in violence in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n
“We must avoid falling back into a situation with the old escalation and must ensure that the entire Minsk (ceasefire) process does not derail,” said Steinmeier.<\/p>\n
“That’s why we expect all sides, especially the separatists responsible for the violation of the ceasefire last night, to return to the Minsk deal,” he said.<\/p>\n
Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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