Friday, January 13, 2017

Are Russian Sanctions Breaking?

Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev waits before an annual state of the nation address attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Reuters: Germany invites Russian minister on EU sanctions list to G20 meeting

Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev, who is on a European Union list of Russians banned from entering the bloc, will next week attend a meeting in Berlin with his G20 counterparts at Germany's invitation.

European Union leaders last July extended economic sanctions against Russia first imposed in 2014 after it annexed Crimea and went on to support a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine. The EU last year also extended travel bans and asset freezes covering about 150 people and 37 entities, including Tkachev.

A spokeswoman for the German ministry of agriculture played down the significance of the invitation by Germany, which in January 2015 refused to issue an entry visa to Tkachev.

Read more ....

Update: Russia to attend summit of G20 agriculture ministers despite sanctions (TASS)

WNU Editor: The Kremlin wants most EU sanctions gone before the Russian Presidential election in 2018. If this German invitation is any indication .... it may happen. On a side note, Russia has announced a plan to permanently leave the G8 .... Russia announces plan to permanently leave G8 group of industrialised nations after suspension for Crimea annexation (The Independent).

5 comments:

Jac said...

Is Angela Merkel going to be an other Trump?

Jay Farquharson said...

""Invitations were sent to all G20 members and Russia is a G20 member," Christina Wendt told a regular government news conference in Berlin on Friday.

The Russian agriculture ministry confirmed in a statement on Friday that Tkachev will attend the Jan. 22 meeting. It said Tkachev would hold bilateral meetings with G20 counterparts. It provided no further details.

France last May granted Tkachev an entry visa to attend an assembly of the World Organisation for Animal Health in Paris."

Jac said...

Well, that's one more Trump...I'm joking, Jay, but I can't help when someone is doing something and be condemn and other's one doing the same thing and being granted.

Jay Farquharson said...

Sadly, in the case of some International Agreements and Discussions, Government's can't be "purity trolls".

You can't really discuss/negotiate/etc G20 Agricultural Issues, with out the Russian Agricultural Minister, as long as Russia is a member of the G20, and members of the G20 import or export agricultural products/equiptment to or from Russia.

Jac said...


Jay,

That's true, but why our politician don't get that and put these people in a black list? They are well paid enough, I think.