German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Tuesday that there was no alternative to a stalled Ukraine peace plan, as they struggled to mask deep rifts during a first meeting in Russia since 2015. Merkel pushed Putin at a frosty encounter to ensure a ceasefire in war-torn east Ukraine, but the Russian leader laid the blame on Kiev for a European-brokered peace deal hitting a dead-end, Thelocal.de reported. “We cannot think about any alternative and we should not have to think of it,” Putin said at a press conference. Putin was also forced to deny that Russia was planning to meddle in German elections that Merkel is competing in later in the year after claims that Moscow interfered with the US presidential vote. “We never interfered in the political life or the political processes of any other country,” Putin said.

Source: The Local May 03, 2017 20:37 UTC