The visit to Russia of the Vice-Chancellor and Economic Development Minister of Germany, Sigmar Gabriel, during which he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, caused a mixed reaction in Germany. The visit took place against the background of another political row between the West and Russia, which started because of the attack on the UN humanitarian convoy in Syria. As a result of it, the Russian-American agreement is on the verge of collapse. There is also no progress on the Ukrainian issue. Expert of the German Council on Foreign Relations Stefan Meister believes that "Gabriel's visit to Moscow undermines the position towards Russia pursued by Chancellor Merkel." He believes that "all of Gabriel's proposals on the speediest lifting of the sanctions reduce Putin's willingness to compromise on Ukraine."
The conservative publication Die Welt has criticized Gabriel for the fact that he did not criticize Russia. His behavior even recalled the position of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who prefered realpolitik and advocated a "special relationship" between Berlin and Moscow. "It is much more comfortable for Vladimir Putin to deal with a politician like Gabriel rather than with Merkel," the publication notes.
Just like the ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the current Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel represents the Social Democratic Party of Germany, which German trans-atlanticists criticize for being too kind towards Russia. The head of the 'Green' faction in the Bundestag, Katrin Goring-Eckardt, said: "Gabriel's visit to Putin shows that it is not clear who is responsible for German foreign policy. Is Gabriel trying to maintain the unity of Europe like Merkel, receive an honorary doctorate degree like Steinmeier, sell German defense products as the Minister of Economy, or just put on a show like Seehofer?" According to Goring-Eckardt, Gabriel should have used the visit to Russia "to urge Putin to withdraw troops from eastern Ukraine and Crimea, as well as stop the intervention in Syria. After that, a sustainable recovery of the Russian economy and overall trade relations can be expected," she stressed.
MP from the CDU Karl-Georg Wellmann has also criticized Gabriel's visit to Moscow, calling it "a totally wrong signal against the background of European sanctions." Wellmann has a pretty complicated history of relations with Russia: in May 2015 the Russian authorities did not allow the German deputy to enter the country, sending him back to Germany. At that time, political scientist Alexander Rahr suggested that such behavior of the Russian authorities was a response to the fact that such Russian politicians as Dmitry Rogozin and Sergey Glazyev were not allowed to enter the EU.
German businessmen are exerting the greatest pressure on Berlin on the issue of easing or lifting the sanctions against Russia. Their interests cannot be ignored by Sigmar Gabriel as the Economic Development Minister of Germany. Matthias Schepp, who heads the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, said that German businessmen want more support from Berlin. He believes that the sanctions are counterproductive in the long term. According to a survey conducted by the Chamber of Commerce, 60% of businessmen advocate the removal of the anti-Russian sanctions, another 21% believe that it is necessary to soften the sanctions regime. Recall that in 2012 the volume of German exports to Russia amounted to 32 billion euros, but by the end of 2015 they only amounted to 21 billion euros.
