(ANSA-AFP) - MOSCOW, AUG 20 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russia's Vladimir Putin that Moscow and Berlin should talk despite "deep differences", in her final working visit to Russia before stepping down as leader next month. Merkel's trip to Moscow coincides with the anniversary of a nerve-agent attack on now-jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose life was saved by Berlin doctors. Her aides have made clear that the timing of the meeting is not accidental. "Even if we have deep disagreements, we are talking to one another and it should stay that way," Merkel told Putin in a televised exchange before the talks at the Kremlin. "We have a lot to talk about," she added, naming several issues on their agenda, including the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. They are also expected to discuss the simmering conflict in eastern Ukraine and the authoritarian crackdown in Russia-allied Belarus. Putin greeted Merkel with flowers, a gesture he reserves for female leaders, and said he hoped the visit will not only be a "farewell" one, but a "serious one". (ANSA-AFP).