Germany's vice chancellor and economy minister met on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The visit's official purpose was to discuss bilateral trade, but since trade is linked to the evolution of the European Union's sanctions on Russia, the meeting suggests that Berlin is looking for ways to modify or even lift the current punitive measures against Moscow. However, such a decision would probably create frictions between Germany and most Central and Eastern European countries, which means that Berlin is still not ready for a formal change of direction....