Russia's Putin Hosts Bavarian Leader For Talks On Wednesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited the minister president of the wealthy German state of Bavaria to the Kremlin for talks on Wednesday.

Markus Soeder took a charter flight to Russia on Tuesday after consulting Chancellor Angela Merkel about what he said would be a two-day working visit.

Russia has traditionally had warm ties with the "free state." Soeder's predecessor Horst Seehofer met with Putin twice in 2017 to talk on a range of issues that went as far as EU sanctions on Russia.

The incumbent appeared more cautious ahead of the trip, telling German media on Tuesday he would not advocate for the soonest lifting of economic penalties but emphasized the need to stay in dialogue with Russia.

Soeder is accompanied by Munich Security Conference chief Wolfgang Ischinger who said earlier that there was no getting around Russia when tackling crises in Libya, Syria or Ukraine.