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| Mrs. Merkel told MPs from the Christian Democratic Union: "What has happened in Crimea is an annexation which Russia must not be allowed to get away with." |
Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has promised that Russia will not “get away” with “annexing” Crimea as world powers agreed to impose targeted sanctions on senior figures close to the Kremlin.
Mrs Merkel told a meeting of her parliamentary party that Russia’s intervention in Ukraine violated the principles of post-war order in Europe.
Her stark message came as America and the European Union agreed a joint response to Russia’s de facto seizure of Crimea, backed by other countries including Canada and Japan.
Mrs Merkel told MPs from the Christian Democratic Union: “What has happened in Crimea is an annexation which Russia must not be allowed to get away with.”
She warned that sanctions on Russia were justified even if they damaged the German economy, according to Der Spiegel. The two countries have close economic ties, with bilateral trade exceeding £63 billion last year. Germany now ranks as Russia’s third-biggest trading partner.
But Mrs Merkel said that a “certain amount of toughness” was required and “all European Union countries from Lisbon to Riga” should “stick together” to defend “European values”. She added, however, that “threads of communication” with the Kremlin should still be preserved. » | Tony Paterson, in Berlin, Peter Foster in Washington and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Wednesday, March 12, 2014
