The Wall Street Journal reports,"while continuing to warn Russian President Vladimir Putin against threatening Ukraine, Ms. Merkel—who earlier said Russia could face massive political and economic damage for its annexation of Crimea—is now emphasizing the need for more dialogue with the Kremlin.
In recent days, the German leader and other senior government officials have repeatedly stressed that de-escalating tensions with Russia, rather than provoking it with a more forceful response, is their top priority. Berlin has also pushed back on pressure from Poland and other Eastern European countries to station more North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops along the security alliance's eastern flank. And German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he saw no way for Ukraine to join NATO.
"I work every day to ensure that we continue to speak with Russia," Ms. Merkel told a meeting of her conservative party over the weekend.
On Monday, Ms. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said it was disappointing that Mr. Putin hadn't withdrawn Russian troops from the Ukrainian border as he had pledged to do during a phone call with the chancellor last week. In response to the latest tensions in eastern Ukraine, Mr. Seibert said all parties needed to avoid a further escalation.
"There's been a lack of sensitivity in dealing with our Russian neighbor, especially President Putin," ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl told the daily Bild in an interview last month.
Polls suggest most Germans want their country to maintain equal distance between Russia and the West and act as a mediator. Yet most believe Ms. Merkel has firmly aligned Germany with the West, according to a poll released last week by infratest dimap. More than 60% of Germans surveyed oppose sending the country's air force to strengthen NATO's eastern borders, the poll found.
The German public's aversion to confronting Russia is one reason for Ms. Merkel's change of course. The other is business.
Many of the country's blue-chip companies, from Siemens AG toVolkswagen AG have major investment in Russia. Though Germany's overall trade with Russia is fairly modest—Russia accounts for just 3% of overall exports—the companies active there count among Germany's most influential.The chief executives of Adidas AG, Thyssen-Krupp AG and DHL parentDeutsche Post AG have all recently criticized the West's handling of the Ukraine crisis, arguing that Mr. Putin was forced into a corner. All three companies have substantial operations in Russia.
Within days of Crimea's annexation, Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser visited Mr. Putin at his official residence outside of Moscow and stressed the importance of Germany's economic ties with Russia. The public visit, which Mr. Kaeser said Ms. Merkel's office was informed about, was seen as an attempt to signal to Russia that commercial ties needn't suffer amid what the Siemens chief characterized as "temporary turbulence."
The head of Deutsche Bahn AG, Germany's state-owned railway, Rüdiger Grube, is also planning a trip to Russia. Deutsche Bahn, which has large freight and logistics arms, does a lot of business with Russia's state railway.
"For us, the top priority is de-escalation," Mr. Grube said at a recent news conference.
Ms. Merkel's supporters argue that she has succeeded in striking a balance between protecting German interests and meeting its international obligations within the European Union and NATO.
Wolfgang Ischinger, the head of the Munich Security Conference and a lobbyist for insurance giant Allianz SE, rejects the criticism leveled at Germany by Arizona Sen. John McCain and others who have chided Berlin for being too soft on Russia. "We are by far the country that would suffer the most" from a worsening of the crisis, said Mr. Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the U.S. "Not a single dollar will be lost in Arizona.""
