Berlin Demands Urgent Russian Approval of Ukraine Observer Mission, Halts Arms Deal

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he had told his Russian counterpart Wednesday that approval is needed immediately for a mandate sending foreign observers to Ukraine, as Berlin halted a major arms deal with Moscow.

"I said again this morning in the conversation that the mandate really needs to go through in the next 24 hours," Steinmeier told reporters after telephone talks with Sergei Lavrov and the chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Didier Burkhalter.

"Then we could send the first observers tomorrow."

Steinmeier said the mission in Ukraine was crucial given the escalation in tensions in the region, adding it was "nearly a miracle" that it had not turned into a "military conflict with major bloodshed."

He said the observers would provide an "objective" picture of the situation on the ground.

"That is only possible when we have manpower in the regions and it would be useless if we only had an observer mission the week after next or next month -- we need it now," he said.

He said the final hurdle to an agreement was laying out which regions of Ukraine would be covered.

"I hope that we can surmount our differences on the mandate today," he said.

More than 50 observers from the Vienna-based OSCE already attempted to enter the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea two weeks ago in a bid to defuse tensions but were repeatedly barred entry at border checkpoints.

Tensions that began in Crimea, which Russia formally absorbed Tuesday amid Western accusations it violated international law, have spread in recent days to the east of the country, with pro-Moscow groups there calling for their own referendum and reattachment to Russia.

In a phone conversation Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept international monitors, particularly in the tense regions of eastern Ukraine.

Merkel's office said Putin had responded favorably to the initiative but negotiators have since run into resistance.

Later on Wednesday, Germany said any arms trading with Moscow was currently "indefensible" as it halted a major deal to provide a fully equipped training camp to Russian forces.

Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel announced the suspension of the Rheinmetall project as Moscow tightened its grip on the flashpoint Crimean peninsula.