Merkel asked Putin to help free OSCE in Ukraine: Kremlin

AFP , Thursday 1 May 2014

Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media during a joint press conference with Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, as part of a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 30, 2014 (Photo: AP)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday asked Russian President to help free a team of OSCE observers that had been captured in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

"Angela Merkel made a request to help facilitate the release of military observers from a number of European countries including Germany that had been detained in the southeast of Ukraine," the Kremlin said following phone talks between the two leaders.

"Both sides noted the importance of utilising the mediating potential of the OSCE across Ukraine to the maximum degree."

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