Banning organizations from working towards understanding between our two countries and people is a major blow to our efforts to achieve better relations with Russia. The decision of the Russian Attorney General to ban a total of three German civil society organizations from operating in Russia is particularly disconcerting and unacceptable against this background.
Two of the organizations concerned have been involved in the Petersburg Dialogue for years to promote German-Russian understanding. Nothing in their work can justify or justify such a serious step. I therefore call on Russia to reverse this step and to promote free exchange between civil society. Civil society representatives must be able to do their jobs without being criminalized.
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