German Сhancellor Angela Merkel is going to visit Moscow on May 2, according to the German Der Spiegel magazine. In an interview with Radio Sputnik, political scientist Vladimir Olenchenko said that one of the reasons behind Merkel's trip to Moscow is her unwillingness to stay on the sidelines in global politics.
The political scientist believes that the important aspect of Merkel's arrival in Moscow is her desire to be involved in the political decision-making process.
"The Chancellor fears that a dialogue between Russia and the United States can develop in such a way that there will be no need for the presence of everyone else and that many important international issues will be resolved without her," Olenchenko told Radio Sputnik.
According to the expert, there are also other reasons behind Merkel's decision to come to Moscow. Among the most important issues are Russian-German relations, the upcoming G20-summit in Hamburg as well as various foreign policy aspects.
"The first aspect is Russian-German relations. Second, Angela Merkel wants to know about Russia's preparations for the G20 summit, which will be held in Hamburg in July. This is an issue of the highest priority because the first meeting of the US and Russian presidents is assumed to take place during the summit.
The third reason concerns Angela Merkel personally. She is a candidate for Chancellor in the upcoming election in September and thus, foreign policy is especially important for her," the expert stated.
Earlier, it was said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a visit to Moscow only when progress on the settlement of Ukrainian and Syrian crises is reached. However, now her position has changed, Der Spiegel wrote.
According to the magazine, German diplomats consider the situation in Ukraine extremely dangerous. In recent months, the situation in Donbass "has deteriorated", while the victory of Donald Trump "mixed all cards in world politics."
After his election, Berlin feared that US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would decide everything "behind" Merkel's back.
"Washington, however, has chosen such a restrained line towards Moscow that it became hardly possible to work. The problem is now not active rapprochement between the US and Russia, but complete silence," the magazine wrote.
Merkel believes that the situation is extremely serious, which is why three weeks ago she visited Washington "to return the Americans into the game," and now will go to Russia, Der Spiegel condluded
