Merkel and Putin discuss Syria and Nord Stream 2 pipeline
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone talks on Tuesday, April 16, during which they discussed the situation in Syria, Ukraine, and Nord Stream 2.
The politicians agreed on the need to focus on the political process to resolve the "long-standing bloody conflict" in Syria, German official Steffen Seibert said.
In the conversation, Putin "pointed out once again that the actions taken by a group of Western countries that committed an act of aggression against the Syrian Republic were in flagrant violation of norms of international law…and greatly damaged efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis," the Kremlin’s website said.
Merkel later criticized Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria. She said that Moscow is as responsible for the attack on the city of the Dhouma as Damascus because of Putin’s support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The Chancellor, meanwhile, insists on continuing the dialogue with Russia. According to Merkel, she may meet with Vladimir Putin "in the foreseeable future."
France, the United Kingdom and the United States launched a strike on Syria during the night of April 14, in response to the Syrian army’s alleged use of chemical weapons in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus.