German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's President Vladimir Putin will have plenty to talk about when they meet tomorrow -- thanks in no small part to U.S. President Donald Trump, whose sanctions and criticisms over trade, energy and NATO have created new worries for both leaders.
The two will meet at the German government's guest house outside Berlin and will give short statements beforehand but aren't planning a news conference, German officials have said.
Government spokesman Steffen Seibert has said that topics will include the civil war in Syria, the conflict in Ukraine, and energy questions.
Putin is facing the possibility of more U.S. sanctions on Russia imposed by Trump, and has an interest in softening or heading off any European support for them.
Meanwhile, while both countries want to move ahead with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline -- roundly criticised by Trump as a form of Russian control over Germany.
Stefan Meister, a Russia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, said that there is "an increased interest on both sides to talk about topics of common interest" and that, in part because of Trump, the two sides have shifted focus from earlier meetings that focused on Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
Merkel was a leading supporter of sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
The two leaders are far from being allies, however, Meister wrote in an analysis for the council that the talks will still involve "hard bargaining" from Putin's end and neither side is likely to make significant compromises -- but both could send a signal that they will "not let themselves be pressured by Trump."
Meister said that Putin can use the meeting to "send a signal to Washington that there are allies of the US that still do business with Russia."
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