German Chancellor Merkel asked President Putin to restore freedom of shipping to the Azov. “The freedom of shipping traffic in the Sea of Azov…must be ensured,” she told reporters after meeting Putin on Saturday in Buenos Aires. “Russia must stick to this.” Concorde Capital’s Zenon Zawada writes: “It’s entirely realistic to view Russia as seeking control of the Azov Sea and preventing ships from traveling to Ukrainian ports, which has already been accomplished to a large extent.”
