Merkel: Dialogue essential to ending Ukraine-Russia standoff
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, yesterday declined to come to Ukraine’s aid after its president appealed for help to block Russian aggression.
Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, appealed to Nato, asking for naval support in the standoff with Russia and accusing the neighbouring state of wanting to annex the Sea of Azov. Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Poroshenko called Germany one of Ukraine’s ‘‘closest allies’’ and urged it – together with other Nato countries – to deploy naval ships to aid his country after Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Monday.
‘‘We simply cannot accept this aggressive policy, originally there was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now the Sea of Azov,’’ he said in the interview.
Merkel blamed Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, for the tensions, but warned that there was ‘‘no military solution’’ to the conflict in the region.
‘‘We ask the Ukrainian side, too, to be sensible because we know that we can only solve things through being reasonable and through dialogue,’’ Merkel said at the annual German-Ukrainian economic forum in Berlin.
She said she would discuss the crisis with Putin during the G20 summit, which starts today in Argentina.
Nato, which Ukraine hopes to join, called on Russia to release the captured vessels and crews, but didn’t say it had plans to send its forces to the region.
The incident marked the most serious escalation of the conflict since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Russian officials insist that the Ukrainian vessels breached its border.
Putin defended Russia’s actions on Thursday, accusing Poroshenko of organising a provocation to boost his poor ratings ahead of next year’s presidential elections. Recent polls suggest that roughly 10 per cent of the electorate would vote for him.
Ukraine has denied any wrongdoing and imposed martial law in the regions bordering Russia for 30 days.
Crimean courts put all 24 captured Ukrainian servicemen under pre-trial two-month arrest.
– Telegraph Group