Germany

Ukraine's Naftogaz backs Scholz's bid for Canadian LNG ahead of trip

BERLIN, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Shortly before his two-day trip to Canada, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received support for his interest in Canadian liquid natural gas to help replace Russian gas imports from an unexpected ally: Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz.

Kyiv has been at loggerheads with Berlin over its gas imports policy: firstly over its deal with Moscow to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and more recently over its deal with Canada to get a repaired turbine for the Nord Stream 1 delivered back to Germany.

Germany, US note ‘courage’ of jailed Russia critic Navalny

BERLIN (AP) — On the second anniversary of the poisoning attack on Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, Germany and the United States hailed the determination of the Kremlin critic who is still imprisoned in Russia on charges those nations consider politically motivated.

“He barely survived the assassination attempt. He was able to recover in Germany,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a video message released Saturday, praising the Russian dissident’s bravery for going back to his homeland.

Germany: Traffic builds up along Rhine after vessel's engine failure

BERLIN, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Around 20 ships are stuck in traffic along Germany's river Rhine, where low water levels have already impeded shipping this summer, after a vessel's engine failure closed part of the waterway, authorities said on Wednesday.

A vessel with a 1,660-ton load was forced to drop anchor due to an engine failure, closing traffic between St Goar and Oberwesel, river police said.

Germany, Israel condemn Palestinian president's Holocaust remarks

BERLIN/JERUSALEM, Aug 17 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced disgust on Wednesday at remarks by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the German leader said diminished the importance of the Holocaust, while Israel accused Abbas of telling a "monstrous lie".

During a visit to Berlin on Tuesday, Abbas accused Israel of committing "50 Holocausts" in response to a question about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the attack on the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics by Palestinian militants.

German fighter jets en route to Australia as Berlin shifts focus to Indo-Pacific

BERLIN, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Germany is sending 13 military aircraft to joint exercises in Australia, the air force's largest peacetime deployment, underlining Berlin's increased focus on the Indo-Pacific amid rising tensions with China in the region.

Last year, a German warship sailed into the South China Sea for the first time in almost 20 years, a move that saw Berlin joining other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the region amid growing alarm over Beijing's territorial ambitions.

Germany: EU could OK combined COVID vaccines next month

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister said Friday that European Union drug regulators may authorize the use of vaccines that are each effective against two variants of the coronavirus.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he expected the European Medicines Agency to meet Sept. 1 to consider a vaccine that would provide protection against the original virus and the omicron variant, also known as BA.1.

G7 top diplomats call on Russia to hand over Zaporozhye NPP to Ukraine — statement

BERLIN, August 10. /TASS/: The G7 Foreign Ministers called on Russia to immediately transfer the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and all nuclear facilities in Ukraine to Kiev's control, according to the joint statement issued on Wednesday by the German Foreign Ministry, which holds the G7 presidency.

EU to discuss Schengen visa ban for Russians — German Cabinet

BERLIN, August 10. /TASS/: The proposal to ban Schengen visas for Russia was put forward to the EU for discussion and Berlin took note of that, official spokesman of the German Cabinet Steffen Hebestreit said at the briefing on Wednesday.

"It [the draft] was put forward by certain countries in the EU and is thereby on the agenda. The German government should now discuss it among Cabinet members and inside the EU. These discussions are not completed and therefore I cannot tell you about interim results," Hebestreit said. "I request to have patience," the spokesman noted.

Polish PM calls for reform against EU 'imperialism' - Welt op-ed

BERLIN, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused the European Union of imperialistic behaviour towards smaller member states in an op-ed published on the Welt news website on Wednesday.

"Political practice has shown that the positions of Germany and France count more than all the others," Morawiecki wrote for the German news outlet, calling for a more consensus-based approach.

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