Merkel and Putin meet in Germany

BERLIN — The personal relationship between Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Vladimir Putin of Russia is often boiled down to certain anecdotes: her put-downs about his role in the KGB, and his attempts to rattle her by bringing his large black Labrador to a meeting, knowing her fear of dogs.

But the two countries’ long history of alienation and rapprochement was also at play when Merkel and Putin sat down for talks Saturday in the German government’s villa outside Berlin — influencing, and possibly limiting, the outcome of the meeting.

Before talks began, the two leaders addressed reporters, but took no questions. They said stability in Ukraine and Syria and the future of the Iran nuclear deal were the top international issues on their agenda. Bilateral relations focusing on energy and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would also be discussed, they said.

“Germany, but especially Russia, as a member of the U.N. Security Council, has a responsibility to find solutions,” Merkel said. “I am of the opinion that controversial issues can only be addressed in dialogue, and through dialogue.”

Many experts saw the meeting as a chance to put the relationship between Berlin and Moscow on more pragmatic ground. But few expected the session to end with strong resolutions or a new strategic partnership.

Here’s a look at some of the issues that define and influence German-Russian ties and the leaders’ discussions.

Are the countries friends?

The two countries could be described as the ultimate international “frenemies,” with economic, cultural and intellectual ties reaching back centuries. Since the 18th century, they have cycled through a series of conflicts and reconciliations, most recently World War II and the Cold War.

Throughout the Soviet era, Germany was Moscow’s most important trading partner, and many Germans view the strong, positive ties to Moscow as a key contributor to the end of the Cold War and German reunification. When the Berlin Wall fell, Germany reached out to Moscow, partly to help departing Soviet bloc countries integrate into the European Union, not only strengthening political and economic ties, but also investing in civil society.

But a break in relations that started with the Russian authorities’ repressive reaction to public protests in 2011 and 2012 worsened in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Merkel and Putin have maintained regular contact. In May, she visited Putin at his summer residence in Sochi, Russia, and she told reporters she saw Saturday’s meeting as a continuation of those talks.

But Susan Stewart, a senior associate with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, cautioned that the leaders’ meeting in Germany should not be viewed as a fundamental shift in German-Russian relations. Instead, it reflects hope that the two sides can compromise on Syria, energy and other key issues, while maintaining their differences over Russia’s role in the conflict in Ukraine.

What do the countries want from each other?

Both Germany and Russia have problems tied to Syria.

For Merkel, the issue is domestic. Her decision to allow more than 1 million people — most of them refugees from the war in Syria — to apply for asylum in Germany has been met with increasing resistance from the public and from her own government. For Putin, it is not being quite able to find a solution to Syria’s civil war, in which he intervened militarily to prop up President Bashar Assad against the rebel groups seeking his demise.

Both leaders could benefit from finding a way to ensure sufficient political stability in Syria to allow Germany to begin encouraging refugees to return, while Putin is seeking support from Berlin and the European Union to help rebuild the country, said Stefan Meister of the German Council on Foreign Relations.

“It is in the domestic political interest of the German government that Syrian refugees be able to return to a stable Syria,” Meister said.

On Saturday, Putin said he would like Germany’s help in rebuilding Syria’s infrastructure so refugees would be able to return.

Is Germany a ‘captive of Russia,’ as Trump says?

Germany imports about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, according to government statistics. That is more than any other EU country, but less than the 60 percent to 70 percent Trump cited when he accused Germany of being a “captive” of Russia at a NATO summit last month.

“That comment clearly taps into a stereotype in Washington that because of its economic ties, Germany is ‘weaker’ on Russia,” said Derek Chollet, an adviser on security and defense policy with the German Marshall Fund in Washington.

“My sense is Merkel, who in her own way makes clear that she understands the Russians and Putin as a type as well as anyone, has no illusions about Russia or Putin and their motives,” Chollet said.