News from Berlin
Merkel and Putin Discuss Ukraine Crisis After Summit in Milan
October 17th, 2014
News from Berlin – On Thursday October 16th German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine crisis.
This meeting happened after the Asian - European ASEM Summit in Milan, which emerged as a key opportunity for diplomacy between Moscow, Kiev and other European capitals to discuss the Ukraine conflict. The meeting started late at night as President Putin had been delayed in Belgrade, Serbia for a military parade.
The meeting, which lasted almost 2 and a half hours, primarily focused on various aspects of the cease-fire agreement reached in Minsk last month, including control of the Ukraine - Russian border and holding local elections in the separatist areas under Ukrainian law. Merkel appealed to Russia to withdraw all its weapons and establish a proper border between the countries under the leadership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
According to Interfax, the two leaders also discussed the dispute over Russian natural gas deliveries to Ukraine. President Putin said that the discussion over Ukraine with Chancellor Merkel has been very positive, however some serious differences remain between Germany and Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.
While the meeting was in process, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and European Union Presidents José Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy, to prepare and discuss a meeting that will take place this Friday, October 17th, which will include leaders from Germany, Russia, United Kingdom and France.
News from Berlin – Berlin Global