Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed joint efforts to end the global financial crisis during bilateral talks in Munich on Thursday, German government sources said, according to dpa. The leaders also addressed further steps towards a new climate change deal, as well as foreign policy hotspots including Iran and North Korea. The murder of rights activist Natalya Estemirova in Russia's Caucasus region on Wednesday was also on the agenda for the meeting at Schleissheim Palace, a former summer residence of Bavarian rulers to the north of Munich. German and Russian ministers were to join the talks during a plenary session later in the day. The leaders were expected to sign documents promoting greater economic cooperation between Germany and Russia, an agreement on combatting serious crime and the establishment of a Russian-German energy agency.
