Ukraine claims Germany did a deal with Russia on Afghan refugees to snub its recent Crimea summit, but EU diplomats find it hard to believe.
"[Russian president Vladimir] Putin demanded of [German chancellor Angela] Merkel the withdrawal of [German foreign] minister [Heiko] Maas from the Crimea Platform and she abided by his wishes," a Ukrainian government source told EUobserver, referring to this week's Crimea summit and to a meeting between Putin and Merkel last Friday (20 August).
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.