May 10, 2015 by admin

Merkel urges cooperation amid Ukraine tensions

Moscow, German Chancellor Angela Merkel today paid tribute to Soviet soldiers killed in WWII as she called for cooperation with Russia amid tensions over Ukraine.
Merkel flew to Moscow to lay a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin walls, in an apparent compromise gesture after she skipped Russia’s main festivities yesterday. Meeting her host Vladimir Putin for talks at the Kremlin, she stressed the importance of cooperation.
“It’s necessary for us to work, to cooperate including over complicated situations—the way the situation is now—and try to find diplomatic solutions,” Merkel said at the start of the talks after the wreath-laying ceremony.
The two leaders were set to discuss the Ukraine crisis over and address reporters afterwards.
Russia yesterday staged a huge parade to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany but most Western countries boycotted the festivities over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.