Russia, Ukraine, European Leaders Discuss Ways To Settle Conflict
The leaders of Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine spoke by telephone on May 24 about ways to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin said Russia offered proposals which it "coordinated" with Russia-backed separatists on holding elections in the Donbas region and granting amnesty to combatants in the conflict.
After the call, the leaders issued a statement "recalling their commitment to the Minsk peace accords and their determination to do everything to ensure they are implemented in full as quickly as possible," according to French President Francois Hollande's office.
The Kremlin said the leaders emphasized the need to observe a cease-fire and discussed raising the efficiency of a monitoring mission by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The Kremlin said the leaders discussed giving the OSCE mission additional powers.
A February 2015 agreement brokered by France and Germany has helped reduce fighting in the conflict, which started in 2014, but frequent clashes have erupted and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.
Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and TASS
France Gives Entry Visa To Russian Minister Blacklisted By EU
France has granted Russian Agriculture Minister Aleksandr Tkachev an entry visa, even though he is on a European Union blacklist, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said on May 23.
It was not immediately clear why France made an exception from EU sanctions enacted after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.
He headed a Russian delegation to an assembly of the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris that started on May 22.
Germany refused him an entry visa in January.
Some politicians in France have voiced support for lifting sanctions against Russia.
Last month, France's lower house of parliament voted to lift sanctions against Moscow in a nonbinding vote that went against the Socialist government's recommendation.
Tkachev's name was added to a list of Russian individuals banned from entering the EU in mid-2014, when he was the head of Russia's southern Krasnodar region. At the time, he was awarded a medal "for the liberation of Crimea" by the acting head of Crimea for the support he provided.
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS
This ends our live blogging for May 23. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.