Merkel tells Putin EU sanctions have to remain

Bloomberg

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told President Vladimir Putin that European Union sanctions will have to remain on Russia, in a chilly encounter in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that exposed their differences on issues from Ukraine and human rights in Chechnya to Russian electoral interference. Addressing a joint press conference with Putin after about two hours of talks on Tuesday, Merkel raised concerns about the rights in Chechnya and Russia’s role in the conflict in Syria. She devoted much of her time to the lack of progress in resolving the simmering conflict in Ukraine.
While Putin sought to lay the blame on the Ukrainians, the chancellor said that a cease-fire is required as part of the so-called Minsk process for restoring peace in eastern Ukraine and appealed to him to make it happen. Merkel said that she would like to be able to lift the economic penalties, but the Minsk process remains “arduous” with small steps forward and steps back.
“My goal remains to get to the point where we can lift EU sanctions,” Merkel told reporters. “But there’s a link here.”
Merkel, who met with President Donald Trump at the White House in March, is visiting Putin in her capacity as holder of the presidency of the Group of 20 nations. As well as Ukraine, Merkel and Putin discussed Syria and the G-20 summit in Hamburg in July, when the Russian and U.S. presidents are due to meet for the first time. Ukraine was one flashpoint in a tense meeting with reporters lasting little more than 30 minutes that dispensed with the usual pleasantries or leaders’ banter. On allegations of electoral interference, Putin said that “we never interfere in the political life of other countries.”
Accusations of Russian meddling in the U.S. elections “were never proven by anything or anybody,” he said, dismissing them as “just gossip.” Merkel, asked about concerns of possible Russian interference in Germany’s federal election in September, Merkel said that “all I can say is that I’m not a fearful person.” “I’m going ahead with my election campaign, based on what I believe in,” she said.