Russia's Putin, Germany's Merkel discuss Iran deal

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed over the phone the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the Kremlin said on Friday.

The two leaders stressed the need to save the deal, said a statement published on the Kremlin’s official website.

"The situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States was discussed. The fundamental importance of maintaining the JCPOA from the point of view of international and regional security was stressed," it said, using the formal name for the Iran deal.

On May 8, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Merkel also told Putin about her Thursday meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko on solving the Ukrainian crisis. Putin and Merkel then exchanged views on sending UN peacekeepers to Donbas, a troubled region in eastern Ukraine, bordering Russia.