Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday they were prepared to have frank talks about differences on reforms even as they deepen trade ties.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
said Tuesday they were prepared to have frank talks about differences on
reforms even as they deepen trade ties.
Ahead of a joint cabinet meeting in this northern city set to be dominated by
growing energy ties, democratic development and the euro zone crisis, they took
part in the final session of a two-day forum on the rule of law.
"In a democracy you tend to talk about the things that are not working
rather than those that are," Merkel said.
"It is better to really have a row than to sweep things under the
rug."
Medvedev said the forum, now in its 11th year, allowed the countries to bolster
ties with open, at times combative debate.
"It is better to argue than to be silent," he said.
On a key point of contention between the countries--freedom of travel--Merkel
acknowledged that
Germany
had
been the "brake" on liberalization of visa rules between
Russia
and
the European Union.
"We discussed this issue with President Medvedev and agreed we must
develop a step-by-step plan," she said, adding that this could include
exceptions for hospital workers and gradual easing of restrictions for students
and tourists.
"I think if
Germany
begins to be a bit more open then
Europe
will
follow suit."
The annual get-together included most of the government ministers from the two
countries, whose trade relations have intensified dramatically in recent years
even as
Germany
has
criticized rights abuses in
Russia
.
At the end of the forum, co-chairman and former East German leader Lothar de
Maiziere said both sides had seen in the 1930s the limits that dictatorships
place on modernization.
"We agreed that democracy, human rights and the rule of law are necessary
requirements for lasting and sustainable modernization," he told
reporters, referring to work that he said still needed to be done in
Russia
.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said the talks had also covered
expanding energy ties "in light of the German decision to scrap its
nuclear reactors" by 2022.
Germany
's
decision, sealed this month, to shutter all of its nuclear reactors within 11
years has left it scrambling to nail down other energy sources, making gas and
oil-rich
Russia
an
even more attractive partner.
Last Thursday,
Russia
's
state-controlled energy giant Gazprom and
Germany
's
number-two utilities group RWE announced exclusive negotiations on a sweeping
deal to construct power plants in
Europe
.
The 13th so-called "government consultations" are aimed at bolstering
ties between the wartime foes and advancing the modernization of
Russia
's
political and legal systems after the fall of communism.
Merkel and Medvedev placed wreaths at a memorial for a group of prisoners
murdered by the Nazis in
Hanover
in
May 1945 including 154 Soviet citizens, then attended a breakfast with Russian
and German business executives.
The leaders are to ink a dozen economic, political and environmental
agreements, oversee the signing of several business contracts and hold talks on
international hotspots including
North Africa
and
the
Middle East
.
This year's meeting, however, was prefaced by an embarrassing debate
surrounding a democracy prize from a private German foundation that was to go
to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Organizers announced at the weekend that they would rescind their invitation to
Putin to accept the Quadriga Prize after a storm of protest in
Berlin
over
his disputed record on human rights, media freedom and the
Chechnya
conflict.
Although
Russia
's
ambassador to
Germany
complained about a "very distasteful and indecent" flap, both
governments insisted it would not mar the talks.
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