Merkel pressed Putin to use his influence over separatists.

Following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday, Putin said that the peace process in Ukraine was improving in spite of its problems.

“There is every reason to believe that the Minsk process is moving forward, though with problems”, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a joint news conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel, referring to the peace deal signed in the Belarussian capital in February. “With all the problems in East Ukraine, it has nevertheless become quieter”, he added while stressing the need for dialogue between the Kiev government and the separatists to restore peace.

Merkel re-stated her support of the peace efforts and repeated her requests to Putin to use his authority with pro-Russian separatists fighting Kiev government forces to end the conflict which has taken the lives of more than 6,000 over the past year.

Berlin had been supporting the Western economic sanctions on Russia, strongly after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean region and over its support of separatists.

The multi-billion-dollar linked Russia-German relation had been weakened due to the activities of Russia.

Merkel expressed the need to learn from history and try everything possible in solving conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. Merkel and French President Francois Hollande brokered the Minsk ceasefire deal in February which has frequently been violated from both sides reporting daily casualties.

The German Chancellor and Putin were involved in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, by the Kremlin walls. She was visiting Russia to take part in the 70th anniversary of the end of WW II in Europe. She was absent at the military parade on Red Square, Saturday.