Russia denies Europe's appeal to release Ukrainian sailors

Demands voiced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to release Ukrainian sailors held by Russia are unacceptable, Moscow's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website on Saturday.

The statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on December 29 follows an appeal by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in a statement on December 28

Merkel and Macron demanded on Friday that Russia release the Ukrainian sailors, whom it captured along with their ships last month in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea with the Azov Sea.

Russia is holding the 24 Ukrainian sailors after capturing them along with their Ukrainian naval vessels last month near the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Moscow alleged that the vessels had illegally entered Russian territorial waters near Crimea, which Russia occupied and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukraine and most UN member states do not recognize the annexation.

The European Union and the United States say Russia's actions were illegal and have called on Moscow to immediately return the vessels and their crews to Ukraine.

Merkel and Macron also welcomed a cease-fire that took effect at 12:01 a.m. on December 29 in the conflict area of eastern Ukraine.

"The approach of the New Year's and Orthodox Christmas holidays must serve as an opportunity for the stakeholders in the conflict in eastern Ukraine to focus on the needs of civilians, who have suffered all too long as a result of this conflict and its consequences," the leaders said.

"The guarantee of a safe and secure environment should enable the implementation of crucial humanitarian measures. We now call on the parties to assume their full responsibilities, especially with regard to civilians in the area."

On December 26, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced the end of martial law in the country's borders regions that was imposed following Russia's seizure of the sailors and their ships in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian government forces have been fighting against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, shortly after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and forcibly annexed it. Some 10,300 people have been killed in the fighting since early 2014.