German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that Washington's decision to withdraw its troops from Syria creates a risk of increasing Russian and Iranian influence in the region. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the official also stressed that Germany supports sanctions against Russia but that they need to be coordinated with Ukraine.
However, Merkel highlighted that the West needs to maintain its dialogue with Russia. "We are still committed to the Russia-NATO Founding Act," she noted, adding that "the negotiation thread must not be lost." She concluded that "from a geostrategic point of view, Europe cannot be interested in severing relations with Russia."
Merkel also said that Germany believes that excluding Russia from the European gas market for political reasons is strategically wrong.