Merkel and Medvedev talk business

The leaders' meeting was their second in less than a month

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have held talks focused on Russian human rights and boosting investment links.

The two leaders also said they wanted to help their people to overcome the consequences of the global recession.

The meeting in Russia's Black Sea port of Sochi was their third this year and the second in less than a month.

Mrs Merkel strongly condemned a spate of killings of NGO workers in Russia's north Caucasus region.

Zarema Sadulayeva, the head of a children's charity, was shot dead alongside her husband in Chechnya this week in the latest of a number of murders that Mrs Merkel described as "absolutely unacceptable".

"It is of utmost importance that those who carry out such murders be brought to justice," she said, adding: "President Medvedev has assured me that this will happen."

Mr Medvedev said the recent killings were "political" and aimed at destabilising the region.

He added that he had ordered Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to find and punish those responsible.

Major partners

With economics high on the agenda at the Sochi talks, the two leaders discussed a bid by Canadian car maker Magna and Russia's Sberbank to buy a stake in Opel, the European wing of stricken US car giant General Motors.

The Opel sale is part of GM's restructuring

Mrs Merkel said Germany had made clear to Russia its "strong preference" for the Magna bid over rival offers, adding that she hoped for a decision "as soon as possible".

Although the ultimate decision on which company buys Opel rests with GM, the German government will have a big role to play as it has provided a 1.5bn euro (£1.3bn) bridging loan to prevent the company collapsing.

While the Magna bid is seen as the frontrunner in the race to buy Opel, talks with GM stalled after it said it wanted intellectual property and distribution rights in Russia to be included in any deal.

Germany is Russia's biggest partner in Europe, with bilateral trade amounting to a record £40bn in 2008.