German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. According to the Prime Minister of Brandenburg, Dietmar Wojde, this will be the first step towards lifting European sanctions against Moscow. He stressed that Merkel should remind the Kremlin of the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

"She must make it clear that a return to confidence and cooperation with Russia is impossible until the situation in eastern Ukraine improves and Russia ceases to conduct secret operations with the aim of splitting and weakening the EU," Leipziger Volkszeitung. Voidka is sure that Putin will listen to the Chancellor's advice and this will be the first step of Russia's rapprochement with Europe and, possibly, lead to the cancellation or mitigation of sanctions. "If Russia really realizes the Minsk agreements to end the Ukrainian conflict, then Europe should be ready to ease harmful economic sanctions," he added..