France, Britain and Germany warned Iran against "escalatory action" on Sunday as deep UN sanctions on Tehran came back into force following failed last-minute nuclear talks.
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called on the EU Wednesday to level "more sanctions" against President Nicolas Maduro's government, in an interview with German daily Bild.
Germany has lifted economic sanctions on Turkey and relaxed its travel advice to the country, Berlin said Saturday,
after Ankara ended its two-year state of emergency.
Germany's biggest lenders have shied away from business with Iran after past penalties for breaching US
sanctions, but smaller banks have leapt on opportunities afforded by the nuclear deal rejected by Donald Trump.
The leaders of the five states of former East Germany said on Monday that they opposed continued sanctions against Russia over its illegal annexation of the Crimea.
Update: The German government has confirmed a media report that as part of plans to increase sanctions against North Korea, officials will ban the operation of a popular tourist hostel at the Asian country's Berlin embassy.
A hoped-for export bonanza has failed to materialize a year after a deal to lift international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, a German industry association told AFP Monday.
Germany pushed its NATO allies Wednesday to re-open high-level channels of communication with Russia, arguing that Moscow has a constructive role to play in many areas, especially in ending the Syrian
conflict.
Leading German companies have lost almost a third of their business with Russia as Moscow's economy struggles with harsh headwinds and sanctions continue to bite.
Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel will lead a business delegation to Iran from Sunday, his ministry said a day after world powers and Tehran reached a historic nuclear deal.
Schleswig Holstein's exports to Russia have dropped by 31 percent, state finance minister Reinhard Meyer said in comments reported by the Hamburger Abendblatt on Tuesday.
At the EU Summit in Brussels on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her French counterpart, Francois Hollande, secured support for an extension of sanctions to the end of the year.
Russia's parliament wants to claim billions of euros in new war damages from Germany, citing current economic woes caused by the drop in the population 70 years ago, news reports said on Tuesday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has set strict terms for easing EU sanctions on Russia as the 28-nation bloc unlocked new aid to help Ukraine overcome its devastating Kremlin-backed revolt.
Hundreds of German companies active in Russia are suspending or will cancel projects due to international sanctions over Ukraine and the weakened rouble.
A Moscow strategy paper seen by German media shows how Russian President Vladimir Putin has been advised to influence Europe through right-wing populist parties including Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD).
The West should consider adding pro-Russian separatists to sanction lists imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine following disputed elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.
