^The next few paragraph were interesting also. Hope to see these problems worked out.

Relations have been strained since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsulaand subsequent support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.


Putin said after the meeting that they, too, had agreed on the need to implement a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine, adding that he and Steinmeier had discussed possible deployment of a UN peacekeeping contingent in the east.


He added that the talks also focused on Syria, the Iranian nuclear deal and the situation in North Korea.


Steinmeier also launched a disarmament initiative he hopes will push Russia and the US to start talks about reducing conventional arsenals.