Advertisement

Merkel pushes Putin for Syria peace plan

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Merkel pushes Putin for Syria peace plan
Merkel and Putin at the G20 summit. Photo: DPA

Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a roadmap for peace in Syria on the fringes of Sunday's G20 meeting in Turkey, German government sources said.

Advertisement

Putin had previously spoken out publicly on Sunday alongside US President Barack Obama, calling for the UN to oversee negotiations for the civil war-racked country.

Foreign ministers from the G20 nations had agreed a roadmap to peace in Syria at a meeting in Vienna on Saturday, which would see opposition and government representatives meet before the end of this year.

A caretaker government would then be appointed within six months to organize elections under UN supervision within 18 months.

The G20 summit held a minute of silence on Sunday in memory of the victims of the Paris attacks.

"We owe it to the many innocent refugees who are fleeing from war and terrorism" to identify the perpetrators and organizers of the Paris attacks and bring them to justice, Merkel told other world leaders.

She said that the main causes of refugees coming to Europe were Isis, the Syrian civil war and battles taking place in Iraq.

The Chancellor is expected to meet with Obama on Monday and has already spoken with King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

"We all know that time is pressing on us – also on the issue of giving hope back to millions of refugees", Merkel said.

She repeated her long-standing demand for European nations to share refugees fairly among themselves – although Poland announced almost immediately after the Paris attack that it would not take any refugees under EU redistribution plans.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also