Germany asks U.S. for more prudent approach to Russia

The German government is calling upon the U.S. to
adopt a more prudent approach to Russia, the deutschelandfunk.de news site reported on
Aug. 29, citing comments made by German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel
following his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The latest
round of U.S. sanctions against Russia, approved by the U.S. Congress in late
July, has drawn concern throughout Europe for their “unpredictable side
effects,” he said. “It’s not wanted to fully ruin economic relations with
Russia,” he said, stating that Germany doesn’t want an Ice Age in relations
between Russia and the West.

The latest sanctions strengthen those imposed on
Russia’s financial and energy sectors, and invoke potential sanctions against
state metallurgical, mining and rail transit enterprises. They give the U.S.
president the ability to impose sanctions on Russian hydrocarbon exporters and
creates the ability to impose sanctions against Russia for undermining global
cybersecurity. Gabriel has criticized the newest sanction on numerous
occasions, while the German economy minister said in late July that they
violate international law.

Zenon Zawada: Gabriel is
succumbing to Putin’s precise goal in dragging out the war in Donbas and
sanctions. Putin is seeking to exhaust the Ukrainian economy and the public’s
morale, while also exhausting the patience of the Europeans in abiding by
sanctions. His bet is that both Ukraine and Europe are too dependent on the
Russian economy to withstand a trade war on a long-term basis.