Putin tells Merkel of partial withdrawal from east Ukraine border

BERLIN (REUTERS) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told Germany's Angela Merkel in a phone call on Monday that he had ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian troops from the eastern Ukrainian border, the German chancellor's spokesman said.

"The Russian president informed the chancellor about the partial withdrawal of Russian troops he ordered from the eastern border of Ukraine," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

"On top of that the two discussed further possible steps to stabilise the situation in Ukraine and Transdniestria," he said.

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