Merkel Floats Meeting With Putin as Points of Conflict Multiply
- No date set as Merkel says it’s ‘necessary’ to talk to Putin
- Merkel, Putin discussed Syria, gas pipeline by phone earlier
Angela Merkel shakes hands with Vladimir Putin ahead of a four-way leaders' summit at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Oct. 19, 2016.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin in the “foreseeable future” after military strikes in Syria widened a rift between Russia and the west.
Merkel made the proposal after speaking by phone with Putin earlier Tuesday, when they discussed Syria as well as the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project from Russia to Germany. The chancellor said last week that Nord Stream 2 shouldn’t go forward if it disrupts gas transfers across Ukraine.