German Chancellor Angela Merkel will fly to Moscow next week for a meeting with her Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as work finishes up on the jointly-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline and ahead of her departure from office, Russia Today reports.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Kremlin said the summit between the two leaders would go ahead on 20 August, and that a number of international and regional issues would be up for discussion.
A German cabinet spokesperson confirmed that Merkel would visit Moscow before then traveling to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The veteran German chancellor, who has held her country’s top job since 2005, is preparing to step down in fall this year, having announced she will not seek a fifth term in office.
