German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin in talks on Friday that Russia had a "great responsibility" to help bring peace to Ukraine, a German government spokeswoman said.
"In this discussion, the chancellor expressed that now, after the recognized presidential elections in Ukraine, the time must be used to bring about stabilization, especially in eastern Ukraine," the spokeswoman said at a news conference in Berlin.
"And in this discussion she used the opportunity to remind Russia of its great responsibility in this."
Merkel met Putin in France on the margins of an event to mark the 70th anniversary of World War Two's D-Day landings, Reuters reported.