https://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20200529&t=2&i=1520319998&r=LYNXMPEG4S0OI&w=1280 — FILE PHOTO: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas gestures at the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Berlin, Germany, May 27, 2020. Tobias Schwarz/Pool via REUTERS

Germany stresses dialogue with China key when asked about possibility of sanctions

29 May 2020, 08:22

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday that the best way to influence China on the Hong Kong dispute was for the European Union to stand united in its response and to maintain dialogue with Beijing.

Asked about the possibility of imposing sanctions, Maas told reporters: “I think the past has shown that it is, above all, important to have a dialogue with China in which the EU very cohesively brings both its issues and principles to the fore and then we will see where this dialogue leads.”