Merkel, Putin agree to more four-way talks on Kerch Strait tension

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a working breakfast on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina December 1, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia will hold further talks at the advisor level about a shipping standoff in the Kerch Strait, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, urging Moscow to let Ukrainian vessels enter the Sea of Azov.

Russia is resisting international calls to release three Ukrainian naval ships that its border patrols fired on and seized in the strait near Russian-annexed Crimea last weekend.