Moscow will deal with the capture of Ukrainian sailors in the Azov Sea in accordance with Russian law, while acknowledging German Chancellor Angela Merkel's position, the Russian news agency RIA quoted the Kremlin spokesman as saying on Saturday.

Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday urged Russia to release the Ukrainian sailors, whom it captured along with their ships last month in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea with the Azov Sea.