Berlin. In the wake of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) banned scientific exchange with Russia. “A state whose wages are in the middle of Europe with a war of aggression against its neighbor, can have no normal relations, even academic relations,” DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee said on Friday. In the service cabinet, “the German-Russian exchange of the DAAD initiative is thus present”.
The President explained that the options for applying for Russia scholarships would be closed and all elections for DAAD scholarships in Russia would be canceled. German Scholarship holders who have already been selected will not receive any financial assistance for currently planning to stay in Russia.
DAAD German University expects “Russia and Belarus to suspend activities of all projects with partner organizations in this fund”. The DAAD also announced that the measures that have now been taken “in coordination with the federal government and after discussions with the University Rectors Conference and the German University” could be further sustained in the coming days and weeks. “Foreign science policy itself also contributes to the question it has to make the overall strategy of the isolated federal government of Russia and the European Union,” Mukherjee explained.
The statement said that in the context of the war, sanctions are “essential”, even if DAAD is aware that the move “creates injustice” and affects countless scientists who will work for peaceful relations.
DAAD is currently financing about 750 projects between German universities and Russian affiliates. Most recently, the service provides about 160 grants per year to German scientists and students in Russia. DPA
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