The leader of the German state of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer, is set to travel to Moscow to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin. Seehofer, who is critical of German sanctions imposed on Russia, says he wants “good relations” with Moscow.
Seehofer defended his visit to the Russian capital scheduled for early February, saying it was not politically-motivated. He added that he would look to discuss economic proposals between Bavaria and Russia.
"We have prepared this trip very carefully ... and we are not pursuing any parallel foreign policy," Seehofer told ZDF television, as cited by Reuters.
Seehofer, the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) has been critical of German imposed sanctions against Russia for Moscow’s perceived role in the Ukrainian conflict.
“Politically we have to face the fact that without Russia we cannot solve many things. We won't be able to solve them,” he said at the CSU’s party congress in Munich on November 21, after being re-elected as leader.
"Sanctions are doing enormous damage to the Bavarian economy and the national economy," he mentioned in January, speaking to the Bild am Sonntag.
However, not everyone is impressed with Seehofer’s decision to meet with Putin, a trip which he announced he would be undertaking months ago. Roderich Kiesewetter, a foreign policy spokesman for Merkel's conservatives in parliament said the CSU leader’s move could be interpreted as a direct challenge towards the German Chancellor.
https://www.rt.com/news/330837-bavaria-seehofer-russia-putin/
ทำไมผู้นำเเคว้นบาวาเรียของเยอรมันต้องไปคุยกับปูตินถึงมอสโควเกี่ยวการคว้ำบาตรรัสเซีย เรื่องนี้มีอะไรในกอไผ่รึเปล่า
Seehofer defended his visit to the Russian capital scheduled for early February, saying it was not politically-motivated. He added that he would look to discuss economic proposals between Bavaria and Russia.
"We have prepared this trip very carefully ... and we are not pursuing any parallel foreign policy," Seehofer told ZDF television, as cited by Reuters.
Seehofer, the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) has been critical of German imposed sanctions against Russia for Moscow’s perceived role in the Ukrainian conflict.
“Politically we have to face the fact that without Russia we cannot solve many things. We won't be able to solve them,” he said at the CSU’s party congress in Munich on November 21, after being re-elected as leader.
"Sanctions are doing enormous damage to the Bavarian economy and the national economy," he mentioned in January, speaking to the Bild am Sonntag.
However, not everyone is impressed with Seehofer’s decision to meet with Putin, a trip which he announced he would be undertaking months ago. Roderich Kiesewetter, a foreign policy spokesman for Merkel's conservatives in parliament said the CSU leader’s move could be interpreted as a direct challenge towards the German Chancellor.
https://www.rt.com/news/330837-bavaria-seehofer-russia-putin/