Merkel and Putin offer signs of thawing tensions at Russian talks on Syria, Iran and Ukraine

President Trump's Iran policy is changing the international picture in more ways than one

(AFP/Getty)

From stern stares to intimidation by large dogs, relations between President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor Angela Merkel have rarely strayed from tension. For all the two leaders share – they speak each others’ language and have become heavyweights of international politics – politically, they could not be further away from one another.

On sanctions, eastern Ukraine, Crimea, hacking, Syria and the Skripals, there still is no common view. As far as Ms Merkel is concerned, Mr Putin has been “living on another planet”.

But as the German leader took part in talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Russian leader’s second residence, an unexpected rapprochement appears to be in the making. At an interim press conference, Mr Putin lauded a “healthy” renewed contact with Germany. And Ms Merkel agreed: “These negotiations are important and they will continue.”

For this, the leaders have Donald Trump to thank. The US president’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal has set European leaders scrambling on a mission to save it.

Russia, a close ally of Iran, has been only too keen to assist. The Kremlin also senses an opportunity to return from international isolation, and, in time, reduce European sanctions. To this end, Mr Putin has been unusually busy with bilateral meetings over recent days. He is due to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron within the week in St Petersburg.

“The meeting was planned before, but the timing came in handy,” says Joseph Janning, head of the Berlin office of the European Council for Foreign Relations. “Merkel wanted to let Washington know that Germany does not wholly depend on the US for international issues.”

At the press conference, the leaders confirmed their agenda was broadly as expected. There would be no discussion of sanctions, as the German side had insisted. Instead, Iran, Syria, Ukraine and energy would take prominence.

There was also discussion of the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany. This project represents a rare moment of economic agreement between the countries, but it has not been without controversy. It has attracted the criticism of Mr Trump, who has reportedly threatened a trade war, and Ukraine, worried about losing lucrative transit fees.

Mr Putin seemed to provide guarantees that Russia would – reluctantly – continue to pay to transit gas through Ukraine.

“Ukraine for some reason doesn’t want to grow relations with us, but they are still keen on money,” he told journalists. “We’re not against the idea … the deliveries will continue through Ukraine provided they are economically viable.”

Earlier, a Kremlin spokesman suggested that the meeting had happened because the world leaders now found themselves on the same page. “When opinions coincide, then countries at the very least become a bit closer to one another,” said presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ms Merkel was less committal. “We have different points of view, but we need to come closer, to discuss the facts,” she said.