Thursday

21st Sep 2023

Merkel asks Putin to free EU hostages in Ukraine

  • Rebels paraded the OSCE hostages for cameras earlier this week in what Germany called a 'revolting' act which 'hurts the dignity of the victims' (Photo: bundeskanzlerin.de)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has personally asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to help free EU military officers held by pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine.

She made the appeal in a phone call with Putin on Thursday (1 May).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Her press service said she "reminded Putin of Russia's responsibility as an OSCE member state and appealed for him to fulfill this responsibility".

Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, added that the kidnapping is a "totally unacceptable … criminal act".

But the Kremlin statement noted that Putin "stressed that the most important thing now is to withdraw all military units from the south-eastern parts [of Ukraine], stop the violence, and immediately start a national dialogue that would involve all regions and all political forces within the framework of a constitutional reform".

Rebels in Sloviansk, in eastern Ukraine, are holding 11 monitors sent by the OSCE, a Vienna-based multilateral body.

They call the group – which includes four Germans, a Czech, a Dane, a Pole, and four Ukrainians – "prisoners of war" and deny Western claims that they and other separatists take orders from Russia.

Amid the high-level diplomacy, the situation on the ground in Sloviansk escalated on Friday morning (2 May), with reports that Ukrainian forces exchanged fire with rebels in an operation to retake the town.

Merkel will on Friday meet with US leader Barack Obama in Washington to discuss the next steps on the crisis.

Her press service underlined that "should Russia show no signs toward a de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine, [the EU and US] could jointly adopt third stage penalties as an answer".

The "third stage" refers to economic sanctions against Russian energy, banking, high-tech, and arms industries to come on top of existing blacklists of Russian officials, oligarchs, politicians and security chiefs.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told press on Thursday that Putin's plan to visit Crimea, a Ukrainian region which he annexed in March, on 9 May will not trigger the move.

But he noted that "should Russia engage in further provocations – up to and including potentially a military intervention, direct military intervention across the Ukrainian border – there will be further severe economic costs to Russia as a result."

US and EU companies with business interests in Russia are urging politicians to hold back.

In Germany, corporate giants Basf, Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, and Deutsche Bank are leading the anti-sanctions lobby. "It's up to politicians and historians to determine the efficacy of boycotts, but I have my doubts," Basf CEO Kurt Bock, whose firm has extensive ties with Russia's Gazprom, recently told German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung.

German-Russian trade accounts for €76 billion a year. There are 6,200 German firms active in Russia and Berlin has said stage three sanctions could lead to the loss of 300,000 German jobs.

For his part, Carney said the political stakes are too high for leaders to bow to business interests. "There's no question there would be an impact if such steps were taken, both in the United States and around the world. But the costs would be far greater for Russia," he noted on Thursday.

But US senators from the opposition Republican party believe that Merkel, whose decisions shape EU foreign policy, is taking too soft a line.

"We certainly need a clearer, more targeted and more united position," senator Jeff Sessions, who attended a dinner with Merkel on Thursday night in the US capital, told the AFP news agency.

Senator John McCain, who has visited Kiev several times to show support for the pro-Western authorities, added that the German "industry lobby … might as well sit in the [German] federal government. It's a shame".

EU blacklists 15 more Russian officials over Ukraine

The EU has added 15 more names to a travel ban list of Russian officials linked to events in eastern Ukraine, but unlike the US, it refrained from targeting businesses and trade with Russia.

EU’s €500m gender violence plan falls short, say auditors

The 'Spotlight Initiative' was launched in 2017 with a budget of €500 million to end all forms of violence or harmful practices against women and girls in partner countries, but so far it has had "little impact", say EU auditors.

Latest News

  1. Europe must Trump-proof its Ukraine arms supplies
  2. Antifascism and fascism are opposites, whatever elites say
  3. MEPs back Germany's Buch to lead ECB supervisory arm
  4. Russia to blame for Azerbaijan attack, EU says
  5. Fresh dispute may delay EU-wide migration reforms
  6. MEPs call for extra €10bn to boost EU's long-term budget
  7. No changes to Turkey deal on Nato, Sweden says
  8. Socialist MEP defends own side jobs after voting to ban others

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us