With 35 percent of German oil and gas imports comi

With 35 percent of German oil and gas imports coming from Russia and 6,000 German companies doing business there, Merkel is constrained even as her foreign minister threatened “consequences” over what he called Europe’s worst crisis since the  Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago in November.

That ambivalence will play out at a summit of EU leaders on March 6 in Brussels, where Germany risks being at odds with EU members such as  Poland , whose Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said the bloc may impose sanctions that hurt Russia’s hydrocarbon industry.

While Secretary of State  John Kerry threatened Russia with possible sanctions, Merkel appealed for political dialogue in a March 2 phone call with Putin. As Russian troops tightened their grip on Ukrainian territory yesterday, Germany said there is still a chance to ease the crisis. When Kerry raised the prospect of ejecting Russia from the Group of Eight nations, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier questioned that approach, saying it would shut down an avenue of dialogue.