Putin Discusses Migration Crisis With Merkel

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Russian President Vladimir Putin phone-called Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday for the second time in two days.

In a statement, the Russian Kremlin confirmed that the two leaders continued discussing the situation on Belarus' borders with EU countries.

"The importance of the swiftest settlement of the acute migration crisis that has emerged in accordance with international humanitarian norms was confirmed," the Kremlin statement read.

During the phone call, the Russian president "spoke in favor of restoring contacts between EU states and Belarus in order to resolve this problem," the Kremlin added.

Putin drew attention to Kyiv's destructive policy

According to the statement, the two discussed the situation on the border of Belarus and Poland, where hundreds of migrants are stuck in near-freezing weather, and agreed on "the importance of a rapid resolution" of the crisis "in accordance with international humanitarian standards."

In regard to the internal Ukrainian conflict, Putin drew attention to Kyiv's destructive policy, which is increasingly based on violent methods, including the use of attack drones, which violates the Minsk Agreement.

The Kremlin statement concluded that Putin highlighted "the destabilizing and dangerous nature of the provocative activity of the armed forces of the United States and a number of other NATO countries in the Black Sea."