Russia's Putin arrives in Germany for economic talks

Friday, 26 November 2010, 18:56 IST
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Berlin: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as he floated a bold idea of a free-trade zone across the European continent. Ahead of his visit to Germany, Putin, who meets Merkel today, said Russia and Europe could work together to form a free-trade economic zone spanning the entire European continent "from Lisbon to Vladivostok". Merkel, who developed an agreeable working relationship with Putin, a KGB agent in former East Germany, poured cold water on Putin's idea, not least because of a plan championed by the Russian premier to create a joint customs bloc with ex-Soviet Belarus and Kazakhstan. "The steps that Russia has taken recently do not point in that direction," Merkel said, referring to his vision of a common economic space.
Source: PTI
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