Kremlin: Merkel-Putin talks in Sochi very important

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin today in Sochi where the two leaders are expected the tackle an array of disputes between the two countries.

Ahead of Merkel's visit, both sides said Putin and Merkel will discuss the fate of the nuclear accord with Iran in the wake of US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the deal. The other areas of discussion would be the war in Syria and the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

The sanctions themselves, however, are "not on the agenda," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Russia wasn't the one who imposed sanctions, Russia did not initiate the exchange of sanctions," he said. "Therefore, Russia is not supposed to initiate this discussion."

Peskov restated Moscow's position that the economic sanctions were illegal, but added that Russia was keen to talk with Angela Merkel and the French leader Emmanuel Macron, whose visit is scheduled for next week, Deutsche Welle reported.

"There is no question, however, that we are looking forward to talks, both with Germany and France, those talks are very important in Western Europe," Peskov said, according to comments carried by Russia's NTV.