Merkel, Macron press Putin to free Ukrainian sailors

German Chancellor Angela Merkel took Russian President Vladimir Putin to task Saturday over Moscow's naval confrontation with Ukraine, one day after France's Emmanuel Macron urged Putin to "de-escalate" the crisis.

Merkel used breakfast with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit to voice her "concern" over the tensions in the Kerch Strait off Russian-annexed Crimea.

"Of course, we talked about the situation in the Sea of Azov, because it is important to avoid any aggravation," Merkel said in Buenos Aires.

Putin strode into the summit on Friday under a cloud, having drawn outrage from Europe over Sunday's incident — in which his navy detained Ukrainian ships and sailors — and forcing US President Donald Trump to cancel their scheduled meeting.

Hours later, Macron raised concerns with the Russian leader at one of his first bilateral meetings, pressing him "to make the necessary gestures so that there is a de-escalation," said a French official.

Both European countries are members of the "Normandy Four" group with Moscow and Kiev, set up to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Merkel said she had also discussed Syria with Putin, "especially in the Idlib region," where a fragile ceasefire has been negotiated between rebels and Syrian army forces backed by Moscow.

Her main focus, however, was on the situation in Ukraine.

"I want to make it quite clear, though, that free shipping to the Sea of Azov must be guaranteed to the Ukrainian coasts and cities. There is a basic contractual agreement from 2003 on this. Russia must comply with this basis," she said.

– 'Exhaustive explanations'-

On Saturday Putin — who has praised his navy for defending Russian territory — "provided exhaustive explanations on this incident in the Black Sea, explaining everything in detail, in exactly the same manner as yesterday during his meeting with the French president," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told Interfax.

Friday's version entailed Putin drawing a map of the Kerch Strait to buttress his position that the Ukrainian ships his navy seized had intruded into Russian waters — a claim denied by Kiev.

"Putin took out a sheet of paper and sketched out the sea and the strait and tried to explain to the president the route the Ukrainian ships had taken through neutral, then territorial, waters," an aide to Macron told journalists.

According to the aide, Putin's detailed run through the incident took about 10 minutes.

As for Macron, "the main message that he passed on is really that of a de-escalation," the aide said.

Sunday's incident in the contested Kerch Strait — which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov — was the first open military confrontation between Kiev and Moscow since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Kiev has demanded the return of its ships and the release of 24 sailors taken prisoner during the confrontation.

Moscow's refusal was cited by Trump as the reason for his decision to cancel a planned bilateral with Putin.

Merkel said Germany had suggested a meeting of the Normandy group to discuss the crisis.

AFP

For Infobae's complete coverage of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina: www.infobae.com/america/g20-summit-2018/

READ MORE: