(ANSA) - MOSCOW, AUG 20 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Russia's Vladimir Putin Friday on the anniversary of a nerve-agent attack on now-jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who received life-saving treatment in Berlin. The pair are expected to discuss the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the simmering war in eastern Ukraine and the authoritarian crackdown in Russian-allied Belarus. Merkel blames the poison attack on the Kremlin and has called for Navalny's release since he was jailed in February, weeks after his return from Germany. Putin denies the poisoning. In what will be Merkel's final visit to Russia, her aides have made clear that the timing of the meeting is not accidental. "Yes, it is the anniversary of the poison attack on Mr Navalny," her spokesman Steffen Seibert said Wednesday. "Our demands have still not been met," Seibert said, adding that the case was "unresolved" and had put a "heavy burden" on relations between the two countries. Merkel, who will travel to Russia's rival Ukraine after visiting Putin, is also expected to discuss major international issues with the Kremlin chief, who infrequently receives Western visitors in Moscow.

(ANSA).