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Coronavirus pandemic

Ambassador says pandemic failed to dent active Russian-German political dialogue

Both nations continue an active political dialogue, he stressed

MOSCOW, July 16./TASS/. Moscow and Berlin continue to maintain an active dialogue on a number of tracks despite the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev told the online 6th Youth Forum of the Potsdam Meetings on Thursday.

"Of course, the pandemic has made [some] adjustments to our life. We have to communicate online much more often. But there is a certain element in this that encourages us to unite our positions, and to consolidate our efforts in the fight against this abomination. This important element must not be ignored. I am far from thinking that the pandemic has had a strong effect on the pace of Russian-German relations," the ambassador said.

Both nations continue an active political dialogue, he stressed. In particular, on Wednesday the Russian and German leaders discussed key international issues, including the settlement of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine. "Our countries are the co-sponsors of the Minsk process and they must talk the Ukrainian side into strict compliance with the Minsk agreements and [encourage] a concrete dialogue with Donbass, since a long-term settlement is hardly possible without such discourse," Nechayev explained.

The ambassador also pointed to the active and effective cooperation of the top diplomats as well as legislators. "We have a lot of historical dates. Historical memory is a major dimension of Russian-German cooperation and our relations, since we have gone a long way towards historical reconciliation after the war," he noted. "We must not allow the erosion of what has been achieved in bilateral relations between Russia and Germany," Nechayev summed up.

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