MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia asks German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ahead of her visit to Kiev, to exert influence of the Ukrainian authorities to push them towards implementing their commitments, Russian President said on Friday after talks with Merkel.

"It looks like that Ukraine’s leadership has decided to abandon the idea of peaceful settlement of the situation. In this context, we once again ask Mrs Chancellor, in view of her upcoming visit to Kiev, to exercise influence on the Ukrainian side in terms of the implementation of its commitments," he said.

The Russian president recalled that more than 1,000 ceasefire violations had been reported in Donbass since early August. "Populated localities in Donbass come under shelling every day," he said. "We cannot but be worried over the fact that Ukraine has passed a series of laws and normative acts, which run counter to the Minsk agreements," he said.

He praised Merkel for doing much in the interests of the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, being one of the originators of the Normandy format. "Together we tried to find possibilities to restore peace in Donbass. Regrettably, it has not yet been achieved," Putin said.

"Today, both the Russian and German side expressed serious concern over the growing tensions along the contact line. We discussed this topic and I hope this discussion will be continued in the near future," he added.