Merkel calls on Putin to support constructive dialogue in Ukraine

imgGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for a “constructive dialogue” in Ukraine amid the ongoing unrest in the country.

Merkel held telephone talks with the Russian leader asking him to “push at his end for a constructive dialogue between the opposition and government,” the Chancellor’s office said in a statement. 

The Ukrainian parliament approved a bill late Wednesday to grant amnesty to protesters arrested during the anti-government rallies in Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities, the parliament’s press service said Thursday.

With at least 226 votes needed to approve the bill, 232 lawmakers of the 416 present in the parliament supported the legislation.

According to the draft law, the police would free all protesters arrested during demonstrations since Nov. 21, only if they abandon within 15 days the buildings they have seized.

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