The close economic, cultural, political and interpersonal contacts that have been established between Germany and Russia over the past 25 years seem endangered by the current political crises focusing on the Ukraine. In this situation it is more important than ever to sustain the links that have been created. VTB Bank (Deutschland) AG in Frankfurt can draw on 40 years of experience as a German specialist bank for German-Russian trade relations and is uniquely positioned to provide advice to companies and banks on the settlement of transactions in Russia and the other CIS states.