Merkel urges Putin to release detained Ukrainian sailors
The press secretary of the federal government Steffen Seibert stated that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel conducted a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the message, the two sides discussed the situation in the Kerch Strait. During the conversation, Merkel urged the Russian president to release the detained Ukrainian sailors and to ensure the passage of ships through the Kerch Strait. The parties also discussed gas transit from Russia through Ukraine after 2019 and the situation in Syria, in particular, the formation of a constitutional committee.
Furthermore, the Federal Chancellor and the Russian president exchanged views regarding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Earlier it was reported that the German Chancellor resigned as chairman of the CDU party. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer became her successor. Since February of this year she was the party’s Secretary General, and before that headed the government of the State of Saarland.