German Business Hopeful Ahead Of Putin-Scholz Talks - AHK Russland

Syed Zeeshan Aziz (@imziishan) Published February 14, 2022 | 05:23 PM

German business in Russia is pinning hopes on the upcoming meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the head of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Russland) said Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2022) German business in Russia is pinning hopes on the upcoming meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the head of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Russland) said Monday.

Olaf Scholz will travel to Moscow on Tuesday, a day after visiting Kiev, in a bid to de-escalate tensions between the West and Russia over its alleged plans to invade Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied the claim.

"German companies in Russia place a lot of hopes on the meeting of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin in Moscow," AHK Russland President Rainer Seele said in a statement.

He criticized calls in Germany to break off economic ties with Russia over its perceived aggression against Ukraine, arguing this would only escalate tensions.

"Even in the dark times of the Cold War, German business continued acting as a bridge between Germany and the Soviet Union," he said.

Seele said Germany should expand the business outreach in Russia by forging close bonds between cities and organizing cultural events and youth exchanges.

Some 3,600 companies with German capital are active in Russia, according to AHK Russland, an umbrella organization representing the interests of some 1,000 firms. Germans have invested some 7.6 billion Euros ($8.6 billion) in Russia over the past five years.