German minister wants to rebuild Russian trust

Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, wants to resume dialogue with Russia after diplomatic expulsions over the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal, the Russian spy, in Salisbury, he said yesterday.

Mr Maas, a member of the Social Democrats party, which is split on how tough to be on Moscow, told Bild am Sonntag: “We need Russia as a partner to settle regional conflicts, for disarmament ... we are therefore open for dialogue and are trying to rebuild trust bit by bit if Russia is ready.”