Merkel said she would raise “international problems that we can only resolve together,” including “the question of Iran and the necessity of fresh sanctions” and the future of breakaway Serbian province Kosovo.
“We can discuss our differences of opinion openly, but we can also find points in common,” Merkel said, during her traditional weekly video address.
The German chancellor also called for a “strategic partnership” between the two countries, whose leaders are to meet in the German town of Wiesbaden.
Germany wants good relations with Russia in a number of policy areas such the economy, science, technology, legal matters and foreign policy, she added.
