Updated 4:53 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that a decision to postpone a Russian-German forum amid difficult relations with the European Union “makes certain sense.”
“At present conditions, amid difficult relations with Europe it would be better to postpone the Petersburg Dialogue in order not to damage this process,” Putin said.
“This is the logic of our German partners and it makes certain sense,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, the Russian-German forum’s press service confirmed that the Petersburg Dialogue scheduled to take place late October in Russian resort city of Sochi has been postponed. The decision has been made by chiefs of the forum coordination committees on both sides.
The relationships between Russia and the European Union have deteriorated amid tensions in Ukraine. Over the past months, the EU has been unjustifiably blaming Moscow for meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs and imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in Ukrainian crisis.
Moscow has repeatedly denied the EU’s allegations, stating that Russia, in contrary, does everything possible to reduce tensions in Ukraine, while the West was the one to escalate the situation.
The annual Petersburg dialogue forum was established in 2001 at the initiative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder. The forum is aimed at increasing the mutual understanding between Russia and Germany, further developing the bilateral cooperation in various spheres and broadening contacts between the two nations.
