USA TODAY: European leaders said they have regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hope to reach a diplomatic solution to end Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine, but will stand strong behind the sanctions until then.
“Everyone is talking to Putin,” Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said Thursday in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks to him daily, Stubb said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks to him a few times a week…
Still, European Union leaders at the World Economic Forum said they saw no reason to weaken sanctions when they come under review in March. They said the EU would stand behind the sanctions until Russia abides by the Minsk Protocol, a peace deal struck in September with Russia, Ukraine and EU negotiators. The deal requires Russia to withdraw its support to separatist rebels operating in eastern Ukraine and leave Crimea. Russia backed a separatist government elected in a questionable election in Ukraine’s Crimea region and on March 18 annexed the territory… (more)
