German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss issues pertaining to Ukraine and Syria in a signal of renewed dialogue despite profound rifts on her first visit to Russia since 2015.
The necessity of strict observance of the Minsk agreement by all the parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine was in focus of talks between the Russian president and the German chancellor.
The Minsk agreement is a deal brokered by Merkel and French President Francois Hollande with the aim of resolving the Ukraine crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel give a press conference following their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi on May 2, 2017/VCG Photo
As he discussed the activities of the Normandy quartet, Putin said that if that format had not existed, "the current state of affairs would have been far worse than it is today and this is a certain result."
Putin said for the implementation of the Minsk Accords, it is essential to achieve a direct dialogue between parties in Ukraine.
The agreements involve a ceasefire, and pulling weapons and pro-Russian forces out of the area. Merkel stressed the importance of ceasefire in the country, and German is considering to lift the sanction against Russia if Moscow adhered to the Minsk agreements.
Putin also discussed Syria issue with Merkel, agreed on need for more active talks process among all parties.
Putin condemns the use of chemical weapons by anyone and wants a full and impartial investigation into last month's poison gas attack on the Syrian city of Khan Sheikhoun
A file photo taken on February 18, 2015 shows conflicts in the eastern Ukrainian city of Gorlivka, Donetsk region./VCG Photo
"Those guilty must be found and punished," Putin told a news conference after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel held in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi. "But this can be only done after an impartial investigation."
"A solution in Syria can be only found by peaceful means and under the aegis of the United Nations," Putin said.
Berlin has said Tuesday's meeting would "above all" focus on the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg in July and no breakthroughs were expected on major disagreements, although Putin earlier called for ties "to fully normalise." Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Crimea crisis in 2014 and supporting the a separatist insurgency in the east of the country.
Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West. A European-brokered peace plan to end the conflict has hit a dead end.
The German leader last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also due to meet Putin in Sochi on Wednesday. The two leaders have inched closer together on Syria as Erdogan's ties with Europe have plummeted.
