German FM: Dialogue with Russia remains necessary

BERLIN

Dialogue with Russia remains necessary despite fundamentally different views between Berlin and Moscow on many international issues, Germany’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

"We will not find answers to urgent international issues without Moscow. What is more, we can only achieve lasting peace in Europe if we work together," Heiko Maas said in a written statement, ahead of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the western German city of Koenigswinter.

"We will discuss the preservation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, the future of arms control and the situation in eastern Ukraine," Maas said.

"We have recently seen a glimmer of hope in the Donbass. Russia now has to make a constructive contribution to ensure that these positive signs finally lead towards peace," he added.

The ministers are scheduled to attend Petersburger Dialog forum and hold a bilateral meeting to discuss bilateral relations and international issues, including the situation in Syria, the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the future of arms control.