Advertisement

Merkel phones Putin over Ukraine violence

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Merkel phones Putin over Ukraine violence
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: DPA

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Sunday to "put pressure" on Ukraine's pro-Kremlin separatists to end a recent upsurge in violence.

Advertisement

Merkel called on Putin to use his influence with the rebels to "avoid a new escalation" of the unrest, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said, a day after heavy rocket fire killed 30 civilians in the eastern port of Mariupol. 

The chancellor also said the rebels, as signatories to the peace agreements signed in Minsk last year, should sit down for talks with representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Merkel also called Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to offer her condolences over the Mariupol attacks, which she called "a clear and unjustifiable ceasefire violation", the spokesman added.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also