Merkel refuses to send Navy ships to Russia’s shores, rebuffs US pressure – report

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has allegedly stood up to pressure from Washington as she declined a proposal by Vice President Mike Pence to send German Navy ships towards Russia’s Crimea, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Pence allegedly wanted German ships to sail through the Kerch Strait separating Crimea from mainland Russia. France, which was reportedly also encouraged to take part in a military maneuver off the Russian shores, refused to do it as well, calling the potential drills an “unnecessary provocation.”