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Germany offers to mediate between Russia and Ukraine
[DW] German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said Germany could mediate between Ukraine and Russia in the ongoing crisis in the Sea of Azov. But some critics in Germany are calling on Berlin to help Kyiv militarily.Angela Merkel and various members of her Cabinet have appealed to both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict to de-escalate amid Ukraine's calls for more military support from Germany and NATO. A major crisis in the four-year conflict was triggered on Sunday when Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian navy ships entering the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. Russia accused the crews of a border infraction, and the Russian intelligence agency FSB said the presence of intelligence officers on board, admitted by Ukraine, amounted to a "provocation." The German chancellor phoned Vladimir Putin on Monday evening to emphasize the "necessity for de-escalation and dialogue," government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement. For his part, the Russian president condemned Ukraine's "provocative behavior" and said he hoped Berlin could "influence" Ukraine to refrain from such actions in the future. Putin also expressed concern about Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's decision to impose martial law for 30 days. Poroshenko warned on Tuesday of the threat of war as Russia had increased its military presence on the border: "I don't want anyone to think this is fun and games. Ukraine is under threat of full-scale war with Russia," he said during an interview on national television. The tentative solution hashed out by Merkel and Putin, Seibert reported, was "an analysis of the incident with the participation of Russian and Ukrainian border-security experts." The two leaders agreed to consider this option. Posted by: Besoeker 2018-11-28 |
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