German FM Maas seeks repaired ties with Russia after expulsions

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has expressed his willingness for launching dialogue with Russia following a diplomatic row that has degraded ties between the West and Russia to the lowest level in years.

Maas told a German daily on Sunday that Germany and the West still needed to engage with Russia in various fields despite a new standoff over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England that prompted several Western governments to expel Russian diplomats in a show of unity with Britain.

“At the same time, we need Russia as a partner to settle regional conflicts, for disarmament and as an important pillar of multilateralism,” Maas told Bild am Sonntag.

The German foreign minister further said that the West had to improve its ties with Russia and seek to restore the lost confidence.

“We are therefore open for dialogue and are trying to rebuild trust bit by bit if Russia is ready,” he said.

Maas is a member of the Social Democrats (SPD), a partner to conservative German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government. The SPD has been split on how tough Germany should deal with Russia in the wake of the attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain on March 4 which London blamed on Russia. Some SPD members have urged party leaders and Merkel to ensure that a new Cold War does not start as there are huge concerns in German business circles about the prospects of deteriorated ties.

Germany imports roughly a third of its gas from Russia. However, Berlin has seen a drastic reduction in the amount of its exports to Russia since Moscow retaliated Western sanctions over a crisis in Ukraine in 2014.

Germany has expelled four Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain while Moscow has reciprocated by cutting back the number of German diplomatic staff in Russia. Maas said the decision to expel the diplomats was right, adding that it was “to show solidarity with Britain but also as a signal of unity”.

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