Newsletter 2014/05/19 – Global Policy Orientation
BERLIN/MOSCOW (Own report) – In the debate over a possible expansion
of EU sanctions against Russia, the German chancellor is suggesting a
possible continuation of cooperation with Moscow. “In the intermediate
and long term,” Merkel explained, “the close partnership with Russia
should be continued.” She sees “no necessity” in a policy of
“isolating” Russia, patterned on the cold war’s “containment” policy.
Merkel was reacting to the persisting anxiety in leading German
business circles, that sanctions against Russia could seriously dampen
their expansion opportunities. This is not only an anxiety shared by
gas companies, but also by top corporations in other branches with
significant commercial and production sites in Russia. On the eve of
the Russian president’s visit to China, observers are warning that if
the EU and the USA impose boycott measures, Moscow could forge also
stronger ties to Beijing, thereby tangibly strengthening China.
Hard-core transatlantic circles are up in arms over the prospect that
cooperation with Moscow could be continued – pleading for the creation
of a global front of NATO countries and their allies against Russia
and China.
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