MOSCOW. Sept 19 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have had a telephone conversation at the German side's initiative, the Kremlin's press service said on Wednesday.
"The parties discussed problems surrounding the settlement process in Syria. The Russian president informed [Merkel] about the Russian-Turkish agreements on stabilizing the situation in the Idlib de-escalation area reached at his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan," the press service said.
The Russian and German leaders "reaffirmed their mutual determination to continue facilitating the settlement of the internal Ukrainian conflict, including within the framework of the Normandy Format," it said.
"Vladimir Putin said he is concerned about the situation in the wake of DPR [self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic] head Alexander Zakharchenko's assassination. It was stressed yet again that the Minsk Package of Measures of 2015, including Kyiv's legislative codification of the region's special status, must be fully implemented," the press service said.
In addition, "they addressed some issues regarding ways to overcome negative trends in global financial markets," it said.
Putin and Merkel agreed to continue contacts at various levels, the press service said.