Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius speaking to journalists as he arrived this morning for an EU Foreign Affairs Council -- foreign ministers -- meeting in Brussels.

On the planned French-German-Russian-Ukrainian summit in Minsk on February 11:
"We all expect that there will be some agreement [in Minsk], we all expect that there will be a diplomatic solution. No one wants war, but we can only judge by the developments on the ground. We cannot trust a single word from the Russian leadership currently -- it is worthless, unless proved on the ground."

On a U.S. initiative to provide Ukrainian armed forces with weapons:
"It is a decision for the U.S. [to make]. [There] is some logic behind [it], I personally understand it because Ukraine is withstanding external aggression. The other side is not considering -- they have already made up their minds -- already delivering weapons, sophisticated and heavy weapons. It is cynical, but it is going on exactly during the time of negotiations sometimes. We really should help Ukraine not only financially, economically, politically, but also militarily; not sending soldiers -- that is not [being] discussed -- but at least to support their armed forces with defensive weapons."

​From our newsroom:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukraine's government to cease military operations in eastern Ukraine and stop exerting economic pressure on separatist-held regions, warning that Kyiv was on a "dead-end track, fraught with a big catastrophe."

Putin made the remarks in an interview with the Egyptian state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram ahead of his arrival in Cairo on February 9 for a two-day visit.

According to a transcript released by the Kremlin, Putin said: "The most important condition for the stabilization of the situation is immediate cease-fire and ending" of what he called a "punitive operation in the southeast of Ukraine."

The conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists has killed more than 5,350 people since April.

Washington says Ukraine's separatist leaders answer directly to Putin, and that Russia supports the rebels with trained troops and heavy weaponry.

Despite mounting evidence, Putin continues to deny the allegations.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

​OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier says in an interview (published in Ukrainian) with our Ukrainian Service that "we desperately need a political breakthrough." He also says the "new security mechanisms" that arose following the Cold War "all seems to have stopped working."

Also re-upping this, for those who've been away from the news this weekend, because it says volumes about the current state of international relations with respect to Russia's crumbling credibility on the Ukraine issue:

Russia's Lavrov Met With Hoots, Indignation At Testy Munich Talk