On Ukraine, Merkel Finds Limits Of Her Rapport With Putin

Merkel Getting Close To Breaking Point With Putin
Russias President Vladimir Putin (L) welcomes Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel at the start of the G20 summit on September 5, 2013 in Saint Petersburg. Russia hosts the G20 summit hoping to push forward an agenda to stimulate growth but with world leaders distracted by divisions on the prospect of US-led military action in Syria. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER NEMENOV (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)
Russias President Vladimir Putin (L) welcomes Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel at the start of the G20 summit on September 5, 2013 in Saint Petersburg. Russia hosts the G20 summit hoping to push forward an agenda to stimulate growth but with world leaders distracted by divisions on the prospect of US-led military action in Syria. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER NEMENOV (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)

BERLIN — Since the first Russian forces infiltrated Crimea on Feb. 28, Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has spoken to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at least four times on the phone, her spokesman says. In the space of 10 days, she went from warning him to avoid “any step that could contribute to escalation” to bluntly telling him that Crimea’s plans for a referendum on joining Russia are “illegal.”

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