Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for moderation in the flare-up between Russia and Ukraine as Moscow decides whether to release more than 20 Ukrainian sailors it detained in the waters off Crimea.

Also Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday in Ankara that Russia and Ukraine should solve problems between them through dialogue, saying Ankara wanted the Black Sea to be a “sea of peace”.

Moscow shot at and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels near the disputed Crimea region at the weekend.

The EU, U.S. and NATO have called for the sailors and their vessels to be released immediately.

Merkel telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin late Monday after earlier speaking to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also by telephone.

“The chancellor stressed the necessity for de-escalation and dialogue,’’ Government spokesman, Steffen Seibert said after the call with Putin.

Ukraine’s navy said Russian border guards fired at its ships in waters separating the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov off the Crimean peninsula on Sunday.

Russia annexed Crimea, the site of a major Russian naval base, in 2014 in retaliation for Ukraine ousting its pro-Russian president, amid mass protests calling for closer ties with the West.

Ukrainian lawmakers approved a decree from Poroshenko on Wednesday that declared martial law in the area of Ukraine bordering Russia and the Black Sea coast for 30 days.

If the situation normalizes, martial law can be lifted again at any time, the head of the National Security Council Oleksandr Turchynov said.

Erdogan made the comments in a speech to his party’s lawmakers after Ukraine on Monday imposed martial law in parts of the country in response to Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian naval ships at the weekend.

Russia and Ukraine should de-escalate the situation in the Sea of Azov and solve the conflict without the use of force, Austrian Foreign Minister, Karin Kneissl, said on Tuesday.

“De-escalation is the commandant of the hour,” Kneissl told the Berlin Security Conference, urging dialogue through the UN or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“It’s important to solve this conflict verbally and not with weapons.”

Ukraine on Monday imposed martial law for 30 days in parts of the country most vulnerable to an attack from Russia.

Poroshenko said that was necessary to bolster Ukraine’s defences after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships and took their crew prisoner at the weekend.

However, Europe may need to impose tougher sanctions against Moscow, following Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian vessels, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday.

Poroshenko has warned of the “extremely serious” threat of a land invasion after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships and took their crew prisoner at the weekend.

Norbert Roettgen, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, who chairs the German parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Russia’s behaviour was deeply worrying and that tougher sanctions were an option.

“So far there are no talks about tougher sanctions but I generally would not rule this out,” Roettgen told Deutschlandfunk radio.

“In my view, such behaviour cannot remain without consequences and I don’t think one should say that there won’t be any further sanctions.”

Merkel has stressed the need for dialogue while the EU, Britain, France, Poland, Denmark, and Canada all condemned what they called Russian aggression. (Dpa/NAN)

– Nov. 27, 2018 @ 13:35 GMT |