Merkel meets Ukrainian opposition leaders in Berlin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin Monday with Ukrainian opposition leaders Vitali Klitschko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and discussed the conflict in their country, which was entering its fourth month. Germany seeks, through this meeting, to be in touch in the Ukrainian government and opposition in yet another bid to reach a political solution for the conflict in Kiev, a government spokesman told a press briefing. Klitschko and Yatsenyuk also met with Foreign Minister Frank-Wanter Steinmeier to discuss the German government's mediation efforts to defuse tension in Ukraine, according to the foreign ministry. The ministry welcomed the protesters' leaving of the municipal building in Kiev which was followed by the release of political prisoners. The two opposition leaders hoped Germany would carry out a leading role to defuse the crisis, which began after President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to reject an EU trade deal in favour of closer ties with Russia.