The fan-shaped city is known worldwide and has twin cities in five different countries. One of them, the Russian Krasnodar, will hardly have any contact with Karlsruhe in the near future, because Mayor Frank Mentrup announced that he would break off interaction with the Russian partnership.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an “intolerable violation of international law,” said Mayor Frank Mentrup in a city press release. For this reason, he informed his counterpart Andrey Alekseyenko, the mayor of the Russian twin city of Krasnodar, that from now on Karlsruhe would stop “celebrating anniversaries, delegation visits and official contacts” until further notice.
Image: Carsten Kitter
Nevertheless, a dialogue with the partner city will be maintained. “The citizens of Krasnodar and all Russians, many of whom are also part of the population of Karlsruhe, are always welcome as friends,” Mentrup continued in the letter. He calls on Alekseyenko to “swithin the scope of your possibilities for peace and against violence.”