Chancellor Merkel and Russian President Putin spoke on the phone last night about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
As the Russian news agency Tass reported, Putin asked the Chancellor to influence the Ukrainian leadership, as it was said, „to take no further ill-considered steps“. Putin spoke of provocative actions by the Ukrainian side and a gross violation of international law by Ukrainian warships.
Comments by Merkel were not reproduced. The Chancellor had previously phoned the Ukrainian President Poroshenko. In the conversation, she emphasized the need for de-escalation and dialogue. She will do everything to ensure that the situation does not get any worse.
The Russian Coast Guard had refused to patrol boats of the Ukrainian Navy, the passage in the Kerch Strait off the Crimean peninsula, shot at three Ukrainian ships and then applied. In response, the Kiev parliament imposed martial law for 30 days in the evening. This gives the president extensive powers.
