Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel the withdrawal of Ukrainian military units from the south-east of the country, ending violence and launching a national dialogue are key issues, Reuters quoted the Kremlin as saying. The Kremlin also said that Merkel, in a call on Thursday it said she initiated, asked Putin to help free European military observers who are being held by pro-Russian militia in Ukraine. A spokeswoman for the German government said Merkel and Putin focused on the detention of the observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a democracy watchdog.