Stance on Russia, China a test for new German government

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Germany has found itself facing a series of challenges in its relations with Russia and China that have been testing the foreign policy mettle of the new government since it took office last month. Among them are Moscow’s military build-up near Ukraine and the diplomatic fallout from a court verdict finding that the Russian government was behind the 2019 killing of a Chechen dissident. China’s pressure on a fellow European Union member has also prompted Germany to side against a major trading partner. The issues came to the fore during a visit Germany’s foreign minister made Wednesday to Washington. But amid the show of unity differences have emerged with its close trans-Atlantic ally and within the German government itself.