MOSCOW. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and in Donbas and a bilateral agenda, including contacts between the Russian and German health ministries regarding coronavirus vaccines, in a telephone call, the Kremlin press service said on Monday.
"The situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh has been thoroughly discussed. Putin informed [Merkel] of the mediating efforts to put an end to the hostilities and of the activities of the Russian peacekeepers deployed along the line of contact and the Lachin Corridor at Baku's and Yerevan's request. It was emphasized that the consistent implementation of the agreements stipulated in the statement by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia and the prime minister of Armenia of November 9 promotes the general stabilization of the situation in the region," it said.
Putin and Merkel "highlighted the importance of resolving urgent problems of the population who suffered from the fighting."
"In this context, they mentioned the need for engaging specialized international institutions in the work being done by the Humanitarian Response Center set up by Russia," it said.
The parties "expressed their mutual preparedness for continued cooperation within the OSCE Minsk Group," it said.
They also discussed the situation in Donbas.
"In exchanging opinions on the internal Ukrainian conflict, the parties were delighted to acknowledge that the ceasefire, which was imposed in line with the Measures to Uphold the Ceasefire Requirements signed within the Contact Group in July, has been basically observed," it said.
At the same time, Putin and Merkel "expressed their concern about a lack of progress in implementing the political aspects of the 2015 Minsk Agreements and the decisions made by the Normandy Four at the Paris summit a year ago," it said.
They reiterated that "there is no alternative to the Minsk Agreements as the basis of a settlement and the importance for Kyiv to implement the obligations it has undertaken," it said.
Putin and Merkel "reaffirmed their determination to continue working together in the Normandy format, including at the level of the political advisors to the Russian, German, French, and Ukrainian leaders," it said.
The two leaders also touched upon some relevant aspects of the bilateral agenda, it said.
"In the context of collaboration in opposing the spread of the coronavirus infection, they agreed on further contacts between the Russian and German health ministries, particularly regarding vaccines," it said.