BERLIN, June 21. /TASS/. German human rights activists have come up with an open letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel calling on her to make steps to improve relations with Russia. The letter will be published in German media on Wednesday, the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union.
The letter initiated by the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) was signed by more than 100 public figures and politicians.
"We call to finally learn the lesson from this most terrible war for the sake of a new quality of German-Russia relations," the letter says. Its authors note that Russian art is part and parcel on the European culture and this fact may serve as a basis "for friendly relations" within which the sides will be able to discuss pressing problems and bridge differences.
"On this important day from the historical point of view, June 22, 2016, we want to address German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the federal government: only the policy of accord with Russia and the policy of settling conflicts and bridging differences on the basis of international law offers a perspective of Europe’s peaceful future," the letter says.
Apart from that, the letter reminds of the Russia-NATO Founding Act where the alliance undertakes to refrain from long-term deployment of its forces in Eastern Europe. "All the signatories to the Act recognized that they are not enemies and that security of all states in the Euro-Atlantic community is indivisible. It is necessary to get back to these liabilities to put an end to the policy of economic sanctions in the medium-term perspective," the letter says.