MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Merkel has announced that she will stand for a fourth terms as German chancellor, in the Fall elections, having seen a rise in her popularity as her grip on the migrant crisis appeared to be working as 2016 closed.
"Vladimir Putin congratulated German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel with Christmas and New Year… The Russian president expressed hope for the preservation and increase, through joint efforts, in the positive potential of bilateral cooperation accumulated over decades in various fields for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries and the entire European continent," the press service said.
