The very fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have held negotiations after a long hiatus is a positive signal, Russian academic Vadim Trukhachev told Radio Sputnik, adding that Merkel's visit to Sochi may have become a step toward lifting sanctions on Russia. [...]

If the US attacks a Syrian warplane in Syrian skies, it means an act of war. And the US should give an explanation for this, demands Aleksey Pushkov, the head of Russia's Communications Policy Committee. It also means the US wants a divided Syria, he adds. US attack on Syrian plane in Syrian sky is act of war – Russian senator Nach US-Abschuss von syrischem Jet: Russischer [...]

Austrian and Germany have lashed out at Washington over new sanctions against Russia that target the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe. [...]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has joined the chorus of criticism over a new US anti-Russia sanctions bill that would involve fines on EU companies contributing to joint pipeline projects, saying Washington has nothing to do with Europe’s energy policy. [...]

The circumstances of the alleged chemical attack against the Khan Sheikhun settlement remain unknown, with many experts preferring not to hurry with a final verdict. However, it didn't prevent the US from launching missile attacks on Syria "in response." Funnily enough, at that same moment when US President Donald Trump violated the "Western values," he received a standing ovation from Europe [...]

In contrast to their reaction to other attacks, the local authorities of Berlin and Paris didn't light up city landmarks in a show of solidarity with the victims, a decision which was greeted with disapproval by French and German citizens. Their reaction came only 24 hours after the tragedy and seems to have been forced by the public indignation. On Wednesday night, Parisian authorities turned [...]

There were discernible slights and insults for German Chancellor Angela Merkel at her first meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. For Donald Trump, it was just another day, full of outrageous behavior and controversy. The grave consequences of rudeness at this rarefied diplomatic level should not be underestimated. [...]

German pensioner Reinhard Dowe has been on hunger strike for five weeks. The 70-year old man doesn't want to pay the obligatory tax on television and radio, which, he believes, contradicts the German Constitution. Dowe has not paid the tax on TV and radio broadcasting (GEZ-Gebühr or Rundfunkbeitrag) for 1.5 years. [...]

Turkey will challenge the Netherlands in the European Court of Human Rights over its refusal to allow Turkish officials to enter the country and deliver campaign speeches, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned. In an interview with A Haber television following a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday evening, the Turkish leader also promised to deploy “whatever sanctions we have” and to � [...]

On Thursday, Germany's populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party presented its pre-election program in Berlin. The main political agenda of the party remains the same: a sharp restriction of immigration and a more resolute expulsion of illegal migrants. The draft of the pre-election program during a joint press conference in Berlin was presented by three party representatives: Albrecht G [...]

Berlin is not accusing Russia of interfering in the electoral process in Germany and the creation of fake news, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has told a press conference in Moscow. When asked by a reporter to comment on German media allegations that Moscow was behind the creation of fake news and alleged interference in the country’s electoral process, Gabriel said the government wou [...]

German Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel, who is in Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, says that Germany fears a new arms race in Europe. “We are concerned that a new spiral of the arms race may emerge in Europe,” he said, as cited by TASS. “It’s too early to say how and in what direction we could advance to prevent this.” [...]

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has promised to press Washington loosen its economic restrictions on Iran, as it promised to do as part of last year’s nuclear deal. During a public speech during a landmark two-day economic cooperation visit to Tehran, Gabriel said Germany intends to "remind the United States of the commitment to get to an effective dismantling of sanctions." [...]

Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, paid a visit to Ankara during which she called on Turkish authorities to adhere to the principle of freedom of speech and stop their crackdown on opposition media. However, Bundestag MP from the German Die Linke Party Sevim Dagdelen believes that Merkel's speech was an attempt to improve her image in the eyes of the German public, rather than a r [...]

German intelligence was unable to produce any conclusive evidence of Russia waging a disinformation campaign against Berlin, and not for lack of trying. Having spent nearly one year on a joint investigation, the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) have failed to produce any conclusive evidence of Russia perpetrating [...]

The editor-in-chief of German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel has defended a highly controversial cover depicting US President Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty. He also called on Germany “to build an alliance” against the US leader. [...]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the situation on the contact line in eastern Ukraine is causing concern. The security situation on the line of contact in eastern Ukraine is causing concern and the work on the Ukrainian settlement should continue, including within the 'Normandy Four' format, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday. [...]

Bavarian prime minister said that the sanctions imposed on Russia should be lifted before the end of 2017. Horst Seehofer, the prime minister of Germany's state of Bavaria, said on Sunday that the sanctions imposed on Russia should be lifted before the end of 2017 and Moscow should return to the Group of Eight (G8) that brings together world’s largest economies. [...]

Germany is to get rid of the lèse-majesté law protecting heads of state or government from being publicly offended. The decision came after last spring the law was evoked by Turkish President Erdogan who tried to sue a German comedian for a satirical poem he found too insulting. [...]