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Row over Merkel talks with Russian envoys
By EUobserver
Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel's meeting earlier this week with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and the head of Russia's military general staff, Valery Gerasimov, has sparked a political row with opposition parties, given the lack of details on the talks. Gerasimov is barred from entering the EU, following 2014 sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine - but Berlin allowed him in anyway after issuing a waiver.