German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reiterated her position: the conflict in the east of Ukraine should be resolved by diplomatic means.

"There can be no military solution to the Ukrainian conflict," said Angela Merkel, speaking at the German-Ukrainian forum in Berlin.

At the same time, the German Chancellor stressed that Germany supports sanctions against the Russian Federation in connection with the condemnation of Russia's actions, and "restrictive measures themselves are not the goal as such."

"However, we are talking about principles. We can explain something with the help of sanctions. We introduced sanctions, because it is clear that around Russia there is a belt of states that could not develop as they wanted. We cannot close our eyes to this fact," Merkel said.

In addition, Merkel criticized Russia's actions in the incident in the Kerch Strait and condemned the detention of Ukrainian sailors.

"We must ensure that these soldiers are released," said the Chancellor.